Anything You Can Do
by geminisonic
Summary: Part 4 of Snarky Stark Series. Sadie is enjoying life now that she has one! What she plans to do with it can go in so many directions and can unfortunately catch the eye of some bad people. But it helps when your dad is Iron Man. Rated T for sex. refs, violence, language. New chapters are up!
1. Chapter 1

I'm back everybody! First of all, thank you to everyone who has added me to your favorites as well as followed me on Tumblr! I promise to take any and all suggestions for what you want to see happen as a prequel to Iron Man 3!

I love every review I get, so thank you once again!

Enjoy!

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Anything You Can Do

Sadie woke up and stretched. She looked out the window and smiled. It was good to be back home in Malibu. She looked happily at Kala sleeping on the floor and got up to go wake her dad.

It was definitely early, but she didn't care. It was a special day for her.

She quickly found the card she'd made and ran up to his room quietly. She snuck in and found his room was tinted so she really couldn't see.

But she could definitely hear something and it wasn't snoring.

She cocked her head to the side and got closer.

She had no clue what she was hearing. Her dad was grunting and someone was with him, grunting as well. It sounded like they were having a marathon. She finally got to the side of the bed and noticed her dad and Pepper under the blankets making out and doing something else. Feeling curious, she lifted the sheets and her eyes widened.

"Oh God, Tony!" Pepper panted.

"Damn straight." He grunted, and kissed her.

Sadie continued to stare at them in horror. They both rolled and Pepper came out on top and suddenly noticed something out of the corner of her eye and yelped, "SADIE!" she screeched and jumped a foot in the air, separating from Tony, who stared at Sadie, confused, then covered himself.

"Need something, Sade's?" he asked, panting, obviously still recovering.

She shook her head and walked out.

Pepper had her hand to her mouth and was looking extremely embarrassed and Tony was trying not to continue with Pepper as Sadie left the room.

He groaned, "We're done now aren't we?" he asked Pepper, who didn't say anything.

He got up and went to go take a cold shower.

…

Tony walked downstairs, fully dressed with a towel around his neck. Sadie was at the kitchen table, eating cereal and ignoring him. Pepper also came down fully dressed and sat down next to Tony at the table. Both were looking awkwardly at Sadie.

"Sadie…" Pepper started, "I know what you saw earlier was probably very upsetting and we want you to know you can ask us anything you want and that you can tell us how you're feeling."

Tony stayed silent and watched as Sadie continued to eat her cereal and ignore them. Pepper elbowed Tony in the ribs to get him to say something.

"Sade's…" he piped up, rolling his eyes heavenward asking for guidance, "I know it was awkward, but we don't want you feeling confused or anything okay."

She finally pushed her bowl away and looked at them, linking her hands together on the table top.

"I know you're still pretty young for…the talk, but…" Tony said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Dad…" she said, "You do realize that I am an eight year old genius?" she asked.

He looked up a little surprised. That was the last thing he expected.

She continued, "I'm a wiz at science and math and all manner of subjects, meaning I have already done my research on this matter, ages ago in fact. I'm very aware of what goes on in a bedroom between and man and a woman and how babies are made and all that. Not to mention what Parker did to me."

Tony and Pepper looked at each other.

"Oh, Sadie, what that man did was-" Pepper said sadly, but Sadie held up her hand.

"I know. But I would very much appreciate it if next time you put a tie or a condom on the doorknob as is the appropriate method of warning me that you two are…getting it on in the bedroom." She said, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to change, gouge my eyes out with a spoon, and be ready to celebrate one year living with my daddy." She smiled and climbed down, leaving Tony and Pepper to stare after her in shock.

"Good talk." Tony said brightly and Pepper put her head in her hands on the table.

…..

Ready to start the prequel now? Lol.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony had promised Sadie on her birthday that once they were home they would have a shindig, and he did just that. Sure it was all adults that they knew and there were absolutely no kids to play with, but Sadie was content.

Tony had tried finding a way to fit in a casual yet fun way to include Sadie in an adult setting, so he originally made it a pool party, but the only problem with that was now Sadie was afraid of wearing a bathing suit around others.

So she settled for wearing a purple sundress that covered her chest and walking around barefoot talking to everyone.

Bruce showed up and seemed relaxed enough and was enjoying lounging by the pool in a stress free environment. Eventually, Maria Hill, Natasha, and Clint all showed up and Sadie was shocked to see Clint wearing only his swim trunks and sunglasses.

Maria and Natasha both wore casual dresses and still looked professional, but they were obviously off duty and feeling weird about it.

Sadie sat with Kala on a lounge chair by the pool and enjoyed the view. Pepper came over and sat her in her lap, holding her close. No words were necessary.

Sadie hugged her, "I love you too Pepper."

Pepper was close to tears and kissed Sadie's head, "I'm so glad you're Tony's."

"Now I'm yours too." Sadie said.

Pepper smiled, so honored by the compliment.

"CANNONBALL!" someone yelled, ruining the moment and splashing everyone nearby.

"TONY!" Pepper yelled.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" Tony yelled, sticking his head out.

"Damnit, Agent Barton, I know we're off duty but at least act your age!" Maria yelled.

Clint had floated to the top and was grinning sheepishly.

"I'll give it a 9.8." Bruce said, wiping his glasses.

Clint was pleased with that score and floated back to the surface.

…

It was present time and Sadie was excited to receive nonsense that she could actually enjoy for once. Bruce had gotten her a book on anti-electron collisions as well as nuclear physics. SHIELD had personally made a phone for Sadie that had a tracking device that was given to Tony. They too were getting annoyed with her always getting kidnapped. And Rhodey had gotten her an easy bake oven, which she was thrilled to get.

Sadie was happy and made sure everyone knew it. She wasn't expecting a gift from her dad or Pepper yet, until Pepper made her close her eyes while Tony brought out her present.

"Okay!" Pepper said, excitedly and Sadie opened her eyes and screamed.

"A BIKE!" she yelled, excitedly, "My first bike!"

"I might have added a few tweaks to it…" Tony said, "Not to brag or anything…"

"Pepper thank you so much!" she squealed, hugging Pepper.

"Nice to know I'm recognized." Tony mumbled and Sadie came over to check it out.

She quickly hugged her dad then went to work looking at it. It was a gorgeous pink bike that was her size and still had training wheels on it, however, you wouldn't know it because Tony had designed it to look like a two-wheeler so she could ride around without fear of being made fun of, even though it wasn't her fault she was behind kids her own age in the motor department

"I love it so much, thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed.

"Don't you just adore grateful kids? I love it when they are so cool about the gifts they get." Clint muttered to Natasha.

"I love it when grown men don't shove cake in their mouth and try to talk to me." She shot back.

"Seriously, I have a friend whose kid is only eleven and every time I get him a gift he just throws it aside. Rudest thing ever." He kept muttering.

Natasha rolled her eyes and ignored him.

He swallowed and dipped his finger in the frosting and got ready to put some on her nose. She quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "If you value your aiming skills…you will not touch me with that icing."

He admitted defeat and kept eating. After a bit, people were starting to go back to the party and he "conveniently" dropped cake on her shoe.

"DAMNIT BARTON!" Natasha yelled and Clint ran for his life.

"These shoes are Gucci and cost 200 dollars you moron!" she yelled, chasing after him.

Maria rolled her eyes. She knew that any second now she'd see Clint strung up by his ankles outside the window.

Although that didn't happen, Natasha did end up dragging him by the ear back inside and throwing him in the pool.

"This is the best party EVER!" Sadie squealed.

….

Pepper was tucking Sadie in and decided to stay with her for a while, telling her stories of slumber parties she used to have.

"I wish I could do that." Sadie said.

"Well, we'll maybe start getting you some friends and we'll have one." Pepper promised.

"I'll never make friends." Sadie said sadly.

"Don't say that." Pepper said, sitting up, "You are a wonderfully sweet girl and I just know that you will make a ton of friends."

"When and how?" Sadie asked.

Pepper thought, "Well, we'll think about summer camps or something." She suggested.

Sadie smiled at that, "I've always wanted to go to a summer camp."

"Well, now you can." She said, kissing her forehead.

"Pepper?" Sadie asked.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Is it bad that I love you like a mommy?"

Pepper was thrown for a minute and thought, staring at the picture of Sadie's parents on her nightstand. There was also the picture of her and Tony at his Press Conference on the day he adopted her and a newer one had been added of her, Tony and Pepper together at a restaurant.

"Only if it's bad that I love you like a daughter." Pepper said, smiling, "And I don't think that's bad at all."

"Me neither." She smiled.

"You miss them." Pepper said.

Sadie nodded, "Sometimes…I don't feel so bad anymore."

"You'll never forget them and that's what's important." She reassured her and tucked her in.

"Good night Pepper, and thank you for my bike." She said, smiling.

"God, I was hoping Tony didn't ruin it, but I was thrilled he at least kept the color." Pepper laughed.

Sadie giggled and closed her eyes.

"I love you sweet girl." Pepper said and left the room.

…..

Tony was drinking some scotch on the couch, staring at the party mess happily. Another successful party only this time without Iron Man busting out.

Pepper came in and sat next to him. She was holding a box.

"What's that?" he asked her.

"Open it." She smiled, handing it to him.

He opened it and found a book inside. He took it out and opened it. He nearly dropped it.

"I found Sadie's old baby pictures and some of her growing up. I was able to salvage the good ones and put others in storage. I may frame some of them to put around." She said, smiling.

Tony turned the pages and felt a sadness come over him. He'd missed out on so much; her birth, her first surgeries, her first loose tooth, her first Halloween Pumpkin Patch Trip, her first Christmas…

"Tony, there's lots of space for new photos." Pepper said.

"Pepper, this is…so awesome. Thank you!" he said, closing it and leaning in for a kiss.

"I thought you might like it. She sure was a cutie." She said, opening it back up and finding a very cute picture of her hair in curls, wearing a dress.

"Time flies. I'm just sorry I missed most of it." He said.

"You saved her life Tony. Now you have time." She said, "Make the most of it."

He nodded and smiled at her lovingly, "I plan to. With my two favorite girls."

…..

If you check out Tumblr, I actually put up baby pictures of Sadie that I found on the internet. I don't own any of them, but thought they were adorable enough. You can find them on my Tumblr page geminisonic.


	3. Chapter 3

You're all in for some cuteness with the next two chapters and you'll see why! Yes that's right, I'm updating 2 chapters tonight! Feel free to give me some love! lol. Also, don't forget to check out Tumblr cause neverland123 has been making Sadie's scrapbook for Fix Me If You Dare and they are CUTE! Enjoy!

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Sadie took a breath and went inside her dad's workshop. She had to convince herself to be brave.

Pepper was talking to him about some meeting coming up and he was, of course, ignoring her and instead focusing on her butt while she leaned over to examine the papers.

"I really think we should start thinking about introducing green technology and begin the process of weapon's built strictly for-Tony get your eyes off my butt and listen-defense and up security measures…"

Tony chuckled and continued to work on his latest suit. He caught Sadie's eye and smiled. She walked in just then.

"Oh, and before I forget, Bruce is coming by later tonight, so please don't make him angry, I just got this place remodeled." Pepper said, then turned around and smiled at Sadie, "Hi Sadie, did you need something?"

"Umm…I need to talk to you two about something." She said, trying not to sound too serious, but was failing miserably. Pepper sat on the desk and Tony put his tools down to listen.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Pepper asked, very concerned.

"Yes! I mean, I'm healthy and all that. And actually, speaking of healthy, I realize that now I can-you know what, I'm just going to start over!" she said, taking another breath.

Tony smiled, "Kiddo, just tell us what's going on."

She nodded, "Okay, now, don't be mad and please just hear me out."

She took another breath and ended up talking so fast that no one understood her.

"You're passing stool?" Tony asked, looking confused.

"No! Dad, I want to go to school." She said, more clearly.

Tony and Pepper looked at each other and Tony actually laughed, then stopped when he realized Sadie was serious.

"Sade's, Jimmy just gave you a diploma that states you've not only passed every single grade K-12, but college and Master's level. Are you saying you want to go to college to get a doctorate now?"

"No, not college. Third Grade." She announced, looking serious and headstrong.

"Sadie, you are way too smart for Third Grade." Pepper said, "You'd get bored and it would just be wasting time."

"Pepper's right. And when we Stark's get bored, bad things happen." Tony said, holding up one of his gauntlet's he was fixing.

"Please, I want to make friends. NORMAL friends!" she pleaded.

"What about a dance class or something." Pepper suggested, "You'll make friends your own age and you'd be doing something a little different."

"I'm okay with that, but I want to go to school too. I want to learn how to talk to kids my own age and be in a classroom and just feel normal. I've always wanted to go to school." She begged.

Pepper and Tony looked at each other, realizing Sadie was dead set on this.

"We'll talk about it." Pepper promised.

Sadie looked down, feeling defeated, "Meaning you're done discussing it and it's not going to happen."

"No." Tony promised, "We will."

Sadie looked up at him and glared, "No you won't. You're just saying that to get my hopes up."

Tony sighed, "Sadie, let's face it, you're way too mature for your age, way too smart, and…kids might not like that about you."

Sadie looked down and Pepper tried to save the day, "Sadie, what he means is, he doesn't want you to get hurt if the kids at school are angry that you're smarter than them."

"I'll keep quiet and pretend to-"

"Yeah, cause that kind of honesty always works well in the end." Tony laughed, "Sadie, you can't deny who you are and you definitely can't lie about it."

"So…that's it…you won't let me go." She said angrily.

"Sadie, you don't need to go, there's tons of other things you can do to make friends." Pepper said.

"Like what?"

"Camps, summer classes, dancing lessons, all kinds of things."

"But it's not the same." Sadie said, really wishing they could see from her side how badly she needed this.

"Why's this so important to you?" Tony asked.

"I just want to feel normal for once. I don't want to be smarter than everyone else, I want to be like everyone else."

Tony and Pepper thought for a moment.

"If it means that much to you, I'll get some brochures for schools and classes and we'll talk about it later." Pepper said.

Sadie smiled, "Really! You'll think about it!"

"No promises, but we will think." Tony said.

She jumped up and down excitedly, "Thank you!" she squealed then ran out of the room.

Pepper groaned and Tony sighed.

"Hey, she has a point, maybe she should start making friends. But I'm not sure I want her going through what I went through." He said.

"And what did you go through?" Pepper asked, smiling.

He grinned, "There's a reason I'm a genius playboy."

…..

Pepper and Tony sat across from Sadie at the table and held papers in front of them.

"Okay." Pepper started, "I did some digging and found all kinds of camps and classes for kids your own age that you can check out. I also found some schools that are strictly math and science and a few that are for more educated children."

Sadie stared at the pile of papers and brochures. She smiled and started separating the ones she didn't like and the one's she was considering.

"I can go to physics camp now!" she exclaimed and put that one in the "Go for it" pile.

She finally had it narrowed down and Tony, Pepper, and Sadie looked through them all.

"I thought you'd like a dance class or something." Pepper said a little sadly, "I did dance growing up."

Sadie shrugged, "If you want me to, I can try a class."

Pepper smiled and put that one in the good pile.

"Okay, so looks like a few physics camps, a dance class, a technology camp, and a creative arts camp." Tony said, "Sounds doable."

"You're liking the Vonlin Institute for Math and Science." Pepper nodded, "That one seemed okay and Jimmy specifically recommended it."

"At least there aren't uniforms." Tony nodded, no kid of his was going to have her style cramped.

"Well, I will start this right away and we will get ready to enroll you." Pepper said, happily.

"So…I'm going to school?" Sadie asked, smiling.

"You're going to school." Pepper nodded and grinned.

Sadie was jumping up and down in her chair, excitedly.

"Sir, Dr. Banner is here."

"Show him in." Tony said.

Sadie jumped from her chair and ran to Bruce who was stopped halfway down the hall by an overly excited eight year old.

"Bruce, Bruce! I'm going to school! I'm going to school!" she yelled, happily.

"Yeah? I never thought I'd see a kid excited for school." Bruce laughed, "Good luck."

Sadie ran to her room to wash up and Tony groaned a little inside.

He couldn't lie, he was very nervous about Sadie in school. What if all the kids hated her? What if she became something that she wasn't? The possibilities were endless.

"Congratulations." Bruce said, coming in and putting his jacket on the couch.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Not my idea." He clarified and Pepper collected all the paperwork to put in her office Tony had made for her in his house.

Sadie came back out and Tony was glad she was happy, but really hoped her dreams wouldn't get shattered. He shuddered remembering how he and Tim may have been popular and rich, but there were other students who tried to make their lives living hell. He prayed Sadie didn't go through that or he might just have to suit up.

…

Sadie was in a dither on what to wear for her first day of school. She wanted to make an impression, but she also didn't want her wardrobe to scream "RICH GENIUS".

She settled for regular jeans, pink converse shoes, a purple t-shirt with an owl on it, and her favorite pink jacket.

She pet Kala and grabbed her new pink and purple plaid bookbag that Pepper had bought her. Out in the kitchen, Pepper was making everyone breakfast. Sadie noticed an Iron Man lunchbox on the table and rolled her eyes. Only her dad would get her something to remind her of who her dad really was.

"You ready for your first day of school?" Pepper asked, smiling as she gave Sadie some pancakes.

Sadie nodded and ate them quickly. She wanted to go as soon as possible.

Tony came up wearing a casual suit. Sadie groaned a little inside. He planned on walking in with her and meeting her principle and her teacher.

Pepper grabbed the camera and made Sadie pose for some pictures. Sadie couldn't help but notice a tear in Pepper's eyes as she took the photos.

"Ready yet?" Tony asked, checking his watch.

"Yes!" Sadie said, happily.

Pepper bent down to hug her and hand her her lunch box.

"Have a great day, sweetie. Call if you need anything or if you just want to talk or if you need us to come get you-"

"Pepper!" Sadie laughed, "I'll be fine."

Pepper smiled and wiped her eyes, "I'm so proud of you, Sadie."

Sadie was proud of herself at the moment. She grinned and followed her dad out the door, leaving Pepper to sob on the couch.

…

"You sure you wanna do this? We can always back out now and-"

"No dad!" Sadie laughed.

"Alright." He said as he drove.

They were almost there when he decided he should at least give her some pointers, "Now, just remember to always look confident. Kids can smell fear. And try not to be a huge trouble maker. I mean a joke now and then is cool, but too much gets you detention and-"

"Dad!" Sadie interrupted, "I think I'll be fine." She laughed.

He sighed and pulled up to the Vonlin Institute and parked his car.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Definitely." She said and got out.

….


	4. Chapter 4

Sadie sat next to her dad as the principle walked in. She was a nice older-looking lady who was impeccably dressed.

"Mr. Stark, I'm such a fan, welcome!" she said, shaking her dad's hand.

"Ms. Gregory, nice to meet you." Tony answered politely.

"And this must be Sadie, hello there." She said, shaking Sadie's hand.

"It's a pleasure to be here." Sadie said, smiling.

"I like polite kids in my school." She smiled and sat down, "Now, if you have any questions or concerns I should be aware of, I am free to answer any of them."

"Well, Sadie is…" Tony started, "she's been homeschooled her whole life so she may be ahead of everyone her age."

"That's not uncommon." She laughed, "All of our students here had excellent recommendations and have achieved high scores on math and science that exceed their age level."

"She also used to have heart failure." Tony admitted, "Among other things."

Sadie rolled her eyes and prayed for patience; trust her dad to bring up her past and her weaknesses.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, are you feeling any better now?"

"She was cured." Tony assured her, "New heart, new lungs, new…everything."

"Yeah, new science experiment is more like." Sadie mumbled.

"Well that is good news and I'm so glad you chose us!" she said, admiring Sadie.

"On that subject, I've heard great things about this school, so I assume the kids are in a stress-free environment, zero tolerance for bullying, as well as an academic program for gifted kids?" Tony asked in his high and mighty voice and Sadie groaned.

"Daaad…"

"I can assure you, Sadie will not only get the best education here, but she will make many friends who share her passion for math and science. And yes, we have a zero tolerance level for any kind of violence. She will be safe and happy here, I promise you."

Tony still wasn't satisfied, there had to be a weakness to this place, "Well, I'd like to meet her teacher first and see her classroom, if that's alright?"

"Absolutely, come right this way."

…

Sadie was in heaven. The classroom was brightly lit and colorful. Math and science formulas covered the wall next to motivational posters. The desks were put into groups of four. She was sure to make friends here.

"This is Mrs. Wile, she will be your teacher Sadie." Ms. Gregory said, introducing a very nice, young looking woman who came over with a smile that could dazzle anyone. No wonder she was married so young.

"Hi Sadie, it's great to meet you." She said, smiling and shaking Sadie's hand.

"Hi, I'm really excited to be here." Sadie said.

"I'm so glad, now, I have you sitting next to Polly over there. She is a sweet girl, you two will get along just fine. You hook has your name on it, so if you want to get set up, go right ahead."

Sadie nodded and went to go put her things away and make a space at her new desk.

Mrs. Wile shook Tony's hand.

"Nice classroom, very colorful, I like it." Tony said, looking around.

"Thank you." She smiled and then leaned in, "First day of actual school?" she asked.

He did his signature quick half grin and nodded.

She smiled warmly, "I can assure you, she will have so much fun. Polly is a great kid and Sadie seems real nice. She'll have no trouble fitting in here."

"Okay." He said then walked over to her desk, looking around, trying to find a cockroach or something.

She was standing there in awe. Her first desk. Her first day of school. She was a normal kid!

Tony put his hand on her shoulder, "You doing okay?" he asked, "Not sick or anything? No butterflies?"

She turned and hugged him, "Thank you, daddy, I'm so happy!"

He got down to her level and hugged her as well, "I'm only a phone call away if you need me."

"Just pick me up after school." She grinned. He smiled back and didn't want to let her go just yet, but realized he had to.

He nodded and got up, "Be good, have fun, don't talk to boys."

She smiled and sat down, waving, "Bye daddy, see you after school!"

He backed out of the room slowly and walked down the hall, he kept waiting for her to run down the hall, screaming his name to go home or something, anything. But he heard nothing and had to just settle for not trying not to run back and grab her.

When he finally got to his car, he took a breath and headed home.

Pepper looked up from her desk to see Tony coming in. She didn't fail to notice his eyes were red and blotchy, but felt it was better for both of them not to talk about it.

"I'll be working, let me know when it's 3." He said, heading to his shop.

Pepper smiled. She wouldn't need to remind him, he'd be checking his watch every five seconds.

…

Sadie sat at her new desk waiting for the other kids to start filing in. She gulped and told herself to act normal, to be herself, just normal.

A cute little red-headed girl with glasses came over. Her red hair hung in waves down her back and she had freckles on her nose. Her cheeks were big with dimples on them from smiling.

"Sadie, this is Polly." Mrs. Wile said, introducing the girls, "Polly, this is Sadie."

"Hi."

"Hi."

Polly sat down and stared at Sadie for a moment, smiling, "You new here?' she asked.

Sadie nodded nervously and looked at Polly's shirt, "I like your shirt." She said, shyly.

Polly looked down and smiled, "I like yours too. Owls are my favorite bird."

"Yeah?" Sadie said, smiling.

"Where did you used to live?" Polly asked.

"Oh, um…I live here, I was just…always homeschooled." Sadie admitted.

"Cool! Did you get to sleep in and do whatever you wanted?" she asked.

"Something like that." Sadie said, shrugging.

Two boys took their seats across from them.

"Hi." A little blonde boy said, sitting across from Sadie, "I'm Tanner."

"I'm Sadie." She said waving.

"I'm Arthur." The other one said. He was brunette and wearing thick glasses.

She waved at him and they all got ready for class to begin.

"Class, good morning!" Mrs. Wile said, smiling.

"Good morning Mrs. Wile!" the class said together.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce a new student today, her name is Sadie Stark, please help me welcome her and make her first day at school a very fun one, okay."

"YAY!" The class cheered as Sadie got up to go to the front of the room.

"Confidence." She breathed to herself, holding her head up high.

She turned and found every single face staring at her and smiling, she smiled back.

"Everyone can you say hello to Sadie?" Mrs. Wile asked.

"Hi Sadie!" they said.

"Hi everyone!" she said back, trying to look and feel brave.

"Sadie, did you want to tell us a few things about yourself?"

"Umm…" Crap, what should she say? That she was a genius? No. That she almost died a million times? No. That she met the Avengers and saved the world? No. That she has a miniaturized arc reactor in her chest? NO! That her dad is Iron Man? Heck no!

"How about your family or what you like to do…"

"Uh…" Crap! "I live with my daddy here in Malibu and I have a dog named Kala." She started. A few kids smiled and nodded to that.

"Anything else? What's your favorite color?" she asked.

"My favorite color is pink." A few girls giggled happily.

A student in the back raised his hand, "What's your favorite animal?"

"I like bears and manatees."

"Manatees ROCK!" A boy said in the corner.

A girl raised her hand next, "What's your favorite thing to eat?"

"Well…lately I've been eating a lot of cake and I-HOP has the best red velvet pancakes!" she said, nodding.

A few kids oohed and awed.

"What's your favorite subject in math?" Polly asked raising her hand next.

"Well…I kinda like the math I do in physics. All the formulas. They're fun to change around and try something different with."

A bunch of kids nodded at that.

"One more question." Mrs. Wile said.

Tanner raised his hand shyly, "I noticed you have an Iron Man notebook…is he your favorite Avenger?"

Sadie smiled and nodded, "Definitely, Iron Man is my hero!"

A bunch of kids cheered at that.

Mrs. Wile laughed, "Thank you Sadie, now, as a rule, every student on the first day has to answer one math question."

"Okay." She said.

"What is 1,897X4?"

Sadie did the math in a manner of seconds, "7,588." She said, proudly.

The class erupted in applause.

"A new record! Well done, Sadie!" Mrs. Wile said and Sadie took her seat next to Polly who smiled happily at her.

"You beat Sean's record of 2 seconds answering a math question!" she said, happily.

Sadie smiled and felt so happy for the first time. These kids liked math and science. They understood her and welcomed her. Could this day get any better?

….

Could his day get any worse? Tony threw his tools down and looked at the clock for the fiftieth time that day. It was only 11:15. He sighed and forced himself to focus. Sadie would be fine, just fine.

But what if she wasn't? What if she was suffering silently? What if she was being hurt and no one was there to help her? What if she was so embarrassed to tell them that she hated school that she just put up with it?

Hell no! He'd just have to go and make sure himself that she was okay.

He got up and changed into some clean jeans and a regular t-shirt that wasn't covered in oil spots and got into his car.

Pepper came down just in time.

"Tony? Where are you going?" she asked, coming in.

"Uh…I need to run to my office to get a few things." He said, quickly.

Pepper grinned, "Tony, let her be. It's her first day."

"What? Who said anything about checking up on Sadie?" he asked.

Pepper cocked an eyebrow, "Tony…I said let her be, she'll be fine."

"I don't know where you're getting that idea, Pep, I'm going to the office. I mean if you think I should stop by Sadie's school to check on her I can, but I mean, it's only day one and-"

"Tony."

He gave up and put his hands up in defeat, "What's wrong with me Pep?" he asked.

She walked closer to him and smiled, "Nothing, Tony. You're just having a father moment."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means you now know what it's like to be a father." She smiled.

He sighed and rubbed his hair.

"Look, I won't stop you if you really want to go-"

"She is my kid, I mean, come on can you blame me? She could be physically maimed or something."

She laughed, "Just don't let her see you, she will never forgive you if you make it blatantly obvious that you are spying on her."

Tony gave her a look and had to nod. Which of them was a teenage girl once with a father? Definitely not him.

She bent down to kiss him and he took off.

….

Sadie sat outside with Polly and some other girls from her class; Veronica, Heather, Carly, Katie, and Brianna. A few boys, including Arthur and Tanner were there as well.

"Cool lunchbox!" A boy named Sean said from across the table.

"Thanks!" Sadie smiled, my dad got it for me."

"Your dad sounds cool." Arthur said.

"Well, my dad got me this awesome Captain America lunchbox!" A boy named Devin said.

"So, I have the Hulk toy at my place." A boy named Carle said loudly.

"I have Thor's hammer!" Sean piped in.

"Well, I have an Iron Man mask, and gloves that glow!" Tanner said and smiled shyly at Sadie.

"I like Thor, he's handsome." Brianna giggled.

"I don't know, Captain America has that really cool outfit!" Katie said, nodding.

"Hulk is pretty cool…if you're into that." Heather said shrugging. She didn't want many people to know how much she adored the Hulk. Green was her favorite color.

Sadie smiled and listened to them banter. It was so awesome being part of a group. It almost didn't matter that Steve's costume on Devin's lunchbox wasn't accurate. Or that the kids had no clue who the Hulk really was and that he visited her house daily.

She opened her lunch box and noticed a post-it note from Pepper on the lid, "_Have a great day. I love you!" _

She smiled and put it in her pocket.

"Yuck, tuna." Veronica said, making a face at her sandwich.

"I'll trade you." Katie said, "I have a peanut butter one that I'm sick of."

Sadie watched and learned the dynamics of lunch time in peace.

Once she was finished, she was excited to play with the other girls. Polly and Brianna showed her how to jump rope and some of the boys wanted to play Avengers with the girls as damsels in distress.

Tanner played Iron Man and he pretended to save Sadie from Sean's Thor hammer.

Sadie had to giggle inside. Thor wouldn't have harmed a hair on her head, but she knew it was all fun.

She was so happy, she wanted to just squeal for joy.

…

Tony kept his distance and watched his daughter playing with a bunch of kids. They were having fun playing some kind of hero game. He kept hearing names like "Iron Man" and "Thor" and "Hulk" and had to laugh. These kids had no clue what the Avenger's really did. But Sadie was enjoying herself, though he had to admit that the one boy who was playing Iron Man was playing a little too close for comfort.

Well, Sadie wasn't physically injured so he figured she was doing alright.

The bell rang and the kids started filing in. Tony sighed and decided it was best to head home. He got in his car and ended up just sitting there for a while, thinking. Maybe he'd wait a few hours. Day was still young.

He heard sirens behind him and cursed.

An officer got out and came up to him, looking at him suspiciously.

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked Tony.

"Uh…"

"Wait a minute…are you Iron Man?!"

"Sometimes." Tony shrugged.

"Huge fan, sir!" The officer said, shaking his hand, then suddenly remembered why he pulled behind Tony and got serious again, "You do realize you're parked outside a school for young children?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, I know what this looks like, but trust me it's not, it's-"

"There's no danger is there?" he asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Oh no. I'm just sitting here watching…."

"You also realize how creepy that is?"

"Yeeah." Tony sighed, "Look, cut me some slack, it's my daughter's first day of school-"

The officer brightened then and nodded, "I did the same thing when both my kids started school too." He laughed, "I feel you man, but I'm afraid you're gonna have to park somewhere else or let your daughter live her life."

Tony nodded, "On it."

"Before you go…" The officer blushed and pulled out a writing pad, "Can I have your autograph for my kids?"

….

Sadie came out grinning from ear to ear. She can't remember ever having this much fun in one day. Her birthday on the Hellicarrier took a complete last place on that end. She stopped on the lawn in front of the school and looked for her dad.

She saw him standing by his car, nonchalantly waiting and looking around. She ran to him.

"Hi daddy!" she squealed and ran right into his arms. He picked her up and was glad to see that she was obviously unharmed.

"How was school?" he asked, "Wait! Don't tell me cause Pepper's gonna wanna know too." He said, putting her in the car.

She was jumping up and down from excitement, "Oh my gosh! I made so many new friends! And they love the Avengers, dad! And I beat the two second record for answering a high level math question! And Polly already invited me to a sleepover! Oh and-"

"Slow down, kiddo, save some news for Pepper, she'll kill me if she doesn't hear the juicy stuff."

She giggled, "How was your day?" she asked.

He shrugged, "I just worked, almost lost track of time, glad Jarvis reminded me to pick you up." He lied, quirking his mouth. He'd been sitting in his car for three hours.

…..

Hope you like Sadie's new school and her new friends! Which can only mean more drama and cuteness to occur!


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, I have uploaded two new chapters, because I love you all so much! I am loving the reviews and ideas, it gives me so much to work with! Thanks again and hope you like it!

….

Sadie walked with Pepper into the dance studio. Tony refused to go with her. School he could handle but a bunch of squealing girls in tutu's…not so much. Pepper was thrilled to have Sadie in dance. She had gotten her new leotards and shoes and had enjoyed putting her hair in a bun for the night.

She had signed her up for basic ballet and decided to let her walk around and talk to kids in other classes to see if she wanted to try any other dancing.

Pepper sat in a chair while Sadie went to go warm up. A few other girls showed up and Sadie smiled at them and ran up to hug them. Pepper was pleasantly surprised. Apparently they were friends from her school.

"Pepper!" Sadie said, excitedly and Pepper rushed forward.

"These are my friends from school, Polly, Carly, and Brianna."

They all waved at Pepper.

"Is that your mom, Sadie?" Carly asked.

Pepper smiled at the blonde-haired cutie staring at her. She was a very short girl and Pepper had to feel sorry for how short she was and hoped no one made fun of her for it.

"Yes, she is!" Sadie replied, smiling and Pepper felt a sense of pride come over her.

"Your mom is so pretty." Brianna said and Pepper liked her right away, she had an air of sassiness with a huge head of curly blonde hair to go with it.

"Sadie, this is my mom," Polly said, "Our mom's take turns driving us."

"Hello." A petite woman with flaming red hair said, coming forward, and Pepper knew exactly where Polly got her looks. She shook her hand and smiled at the woman.

"You must be Sadie's mom, Polly tells me all about her." The nice woman said, "I'm Shanna."

"I'm Pepper." She said, "Sadie has told me how much fun she has at school and how nice all the kids are."

Shanna smiled at Polly, "Did Sadie tell you Polly invited her to her slumber party next weekend?"

Pepper nodded, "She'll be there!"

"Alright girls, have fun, we'll be over here." Shanna said while the girls helped Sadie warm up.

Pepper sat down with Shanna and enjoyed chit-chatting and getting the gossip on the other parents and on the school. She suddenly felt like a mom.

"Now, if you want, us mom's help take turns on dance night, you are more than welcome to get in on that."

"That would be so great for Sadie." Pepper said, smiling as the dancing began. She was impressed at how well Sadie was doing, though her motor skills were a little behind, she seemed to catch on pretty quickly and seemed to enjoy the activity.

Sadie accidentally bumped into someone, who was ready to yell at her, but Brianna came to her rescue blatantly telling the other girl to back off.

Pepper was so happy that Sadie had champions.

"That Brianna is a spit-fire." Shanna giggled and started her crocheting, "Hope you don't mind, I crochet presents for my family. My boys hate it, but Polly is in love with the hats I give her."

"I think it's wonderful, I wish I had time for it." Pepper admitted. Now that she thought, she really didn't do a whole lot for herself. Mostly Tony and Sadie took up her time as well as work. When she did get a moment to be herself, it was to sleep.

"You have any hobbies?" Shanna asked and Pepper shook her head sadly.

"Well, you should definitely check out the school bulletin board, they have stuff for parents to get involved in as well as the kids. Might find something you like. A woman needs a hobby when dealing with a family."

Pepper nodded at that.

Class was over and Sadie came over, looking winded, but excited.

"That was so much fun, Pepper!" she said.

"I used to love dancing." Pepper said, collecting her stuff.

"Here's my number, feel free to call anytime." Shanna said, giving Pepper a business card. She noticed it was a card for homemade crafts and presents. Shanna winked at her and smiled.

"Bye Sadie!" the girls called and Sadie waved to them.

"Did you see me? Did you see how I did? Was I good?" she asked excitedly.

"You were amazing!" Pepper said, "Really, you caught on real fast and you had fun."

Sadie smiled, feeling proud of herself.

Once at home, Sadie couldn't help but twirl around a bit to show off her dancing skills, though she nearly bumped into Tony a few times, who was obviously in need of some coffee.

"This suit is killing me." He moaned and walked by Pepper.

Sadie bumped into him.

"Whoa there, Sade's. I don't have my dancing shoes on."

She giggled, "You can't dance, Dad!"

"I can too!" he argued.

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh huuuh!"

"Okay children, bed!" Pepper announced.

"I'll show you dancing." Tony said, lifting Sadie and doing a quick waltz to her bedroom and leaning down with her in his arms to kiss her cheek.

"You stink at dancing, daddy!" she giggled.

"I do not!" he argued.

"Your footwork needs work and your poise was not delicate." She said.

Tony gave Pepper a blank look and took Sadie to bed.

Pepper sat on the couch and decided that she definitely needed a hobby, one that she could do to pass the time and feel good about herself at the same time.

She heard more giggling and arguing from Tony and Sadie in her room and heard a yelp.

"You stepped on Kala!" Sadie cried.

"I did not, she only thought I did!"

"Apologize!"

"She's a dog-"

"Apologize!"

Pepper laid her head back. She definitely needed a hobby. Make it a quiet one.

…

Sadie yawned. It was the middle of the day and she was still pretty tired. She wasn't used to so much activity in one week and not getting rest, so it was catching up to her. She fought it at first, thinking she could handle it, but while watching a movie with her dad, she passed out and he finally ordered her to take naps from now on, much to her annoyance.

"I'm not sick anymore. I don't need naps!" she yelled.

"You're not used to all this." He explained.

"I'm not a baby!"

"I never said you were."

"You're treating me like I'm still sick. Quit it!"

"Sadie, go take a nap!"

"No!"

"You'll fall asleep in class and that is not okay." He told her.

"You fall asleep at meetings all the time." She argued with him. She was feeling very grumpy at that point.

"Yeah, but I'm Tony Stark and it's my company. I'm paying for your school and you were the one who wanted to go so you are not allowed to sleep in class."

"Class isn't boring and no one cares that you're Tony Stark." She yawned, feeling angry at him.

"Bed!"

"Make me!"

"Okay."

He ended up dragging her to bed and then closed her door. She didn't even try to fight. They'd both made their point. She hated being treated like a baby and could care less that her dad was a famous billionaire. He was her dad and what he says goes, especially in this case.

Pepper sighed as he came out. He waited by the door to see if Sadie would try to come out. She didn't and he opened the door to find her passed out on her bed.

He chuckled shaking his head, "She wore herself out."

"Tony, I am worried about all this activity. Maybe we should take her out of a few things. I'm afraid it's too much for her and she's had a lot to overcome." Pepper said.

"She'd kill us if we did that." He said, "No, she just needs to recharge her batteries off and on."

Pepper continued with her newfound hobby at the table. She decided to start working on pictures more. She enjoyed taking them and organizing them. She took up a bit of scrapbooking and photo design to pass the time. It kept her busy and it kept her connected to Tony and Sadie.

"Where'd you find all of these anyways?" Tony asked her, picking up some more of Sadie's childhood pictures and some newer ones they'd taken.

"Well, over time, when I had time, I was able to sell some of Tim and Anna's stuff that was in storage. The company would call if they found anything of value or some kind of memorabilia. They finally found her pictures."

"Thanks for doing that." He said.

She smiled, "It's what I do."

"You're better at this than making bracelet's, I'll tell you that." He mumbled and she playfully elbowed him.

…..


	6. Chapter 6

Tony was outside with Sadie helping her with her new bike. She was doing fine until she had to use the brakes. Tony figured she'd do fine pedaling backwards to stop the bike, but it confused her a lot and she toppled over a few times. She kept laughing it off however and got right back on. He decided to install handbrakes instead to make it easier on her.

"Sadie, you ready to go?" Pepper asked.

"Yes!" she said, excitedly and ran to grab her bag.

Tonight was Polly's sleepover and she couldn't wait to experience it. They planned to do each other's nails, watch some movies, play truth or dare, and even tell scary stories. Polly's family also had a bonfire so they got to make smores on her porch.

"See ya tomorrow!" Tony said, hugging her. He wasn't sure how he felt about her sleeping elsewhere, but figured as long as she was safe with other kids, she'd be fine. It wasn't like she was at a public school where anything could happen.

Pepper came back about 20 minutes later and found Tony finishing up his work.

"You coming to bed?" she asked him.

"Pep, it's only 7 pm." He said, looking up.

She raised her eyebrows at him and pulled out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs.

"Look at the time! It's getting late, let's go! Bed, now!" he said, rushing to catch up to her.

…

Sadie was having a blast at the party. The girls had made hot dogs and smores by the fire, told a few ghost stories, watched a movie while painting their nails, and decided to play truth or dare before bed.

"Okay Sadie, truth or dare!" Brianna asked her.

"Truth!" Sadie said, smiling.

"Do you have a crush on any of the boys at school?" she giggled.

Sadie thought for a minute, then shook her head, "I don't know."

"What about Tanner?" Katie asked, giggling.

"Tanner?"

"Yeah, he totally has a crush on you!" Carly said.

"He does?"

"Duh!" Brianna laughed, "He always wants to sit by you, he watches you from afar, he always picks you as a partner for something, he smiles at you…"

"But, he's my friend and I thought all boys did that." Sadie said.

"Sean's been trying to be Brianna's boyfriend." Polly laughed and Brianna blushed, "But Tanner definitely likes you Sadie. From day 1."

Sadie didn't know what to think, but it did make her smile.

"I think you should go on a date!" Heather said.

"What kind of a date?" Sadie asked.

"At school. Bryan took Heather to a spot under a tree at lunch time." Polly said.

"He got me flowers too! He picked them out of the school garden, all dandelions!" Heather grinned.

Sadie turned red and smiled, feeling a little excited inside.

"Okay, you pick someone now Sadie." Polly said.

"Okay, um…Heather, truth or dare!" Sadie asked.

….

After a while, the girls fell asleep in the sleeping bags on the floor. Polly lay next to Sadie and saw she was still awake.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

Sadie looked at her and shook her head, holding her Iron Man "Steve" bear close.

"Do you miss your mommy and daddy?" Polly asked.

"Just a little." Sadie said.

"What's your daddy like? I haven't met him." She asked.

Sadie didn't know what to say, sure she talked about the cool stuff he'd gotten her and some of the things he did with her, but she never really told anybody who he was. Could Polly keep it a secret?

"Promise you won't tell?" she asked.

Polly nodded and sat up, looking to make sure the others were asleep.

She leaned in and Sadie took a breath, "My daddy and I are real close. He's my hero."

Polly giggled, "Not much of a secret."

"What I'm about to tell you is, so you can't tell anyone, cross your heart!"

Polly nodded and did so.

"My daddy's name is Tony Stark."

Polly narrowed her eyes, then they widened, "NO!"

Sadie nodded.

"Your daddy is Iron Man!?" she gasped.

"SHHH."

"Why didn't you tell anybody? You'd be so popular at school! Everyone's gonna want to be your friend!"

"I don't want people to be my friend because of him." Sadie sighed.

Polly thought about it, then nodded, "When Ethan, my brother went to high school, he said the only reason people talked to him was because our older brother Chase was the most popular kid in school. When they saw how different he was, they didn't want to be around him. He just wanted people to like him for who he was."

Sadie smiled, "That's how I feel. I don't want attention."

"Well, I think it's cool that your dad is Iron Man, but you're real cool too. You're my friend." She smiled.

Sadie felt better now knowing that one of her new friends knew who she was and would keep it secret.

"Thanks Polly, you're a real friend!" she said.

"I'll keep it secret, I promise." Polly said, but then thought of something else, "What happens if the others find out? What will you do?"

"I don't know." Sadie shrugged.

"Well, I'll still be your friend." She reassured her.

"Thank you!" Sadie said, laying down and holding Polly's hand.

"Now! Tell me what it's like." Polly said, laying down.

"What what's like?"

"Having a superhero for a daddy?"

Sadie laid down and grinned as she told Polly of some of the adventures she'd had. Both fell asleep talking about it.

…

_She was in a dark house and couldn't see where she was. She felt…unsafe…scared. She heard her breathing and tried listening for something, anything. _

_She suddenly heard laughter coming from right behind her. She turned around and could see him. Parker. He was smiling at her and she couldn't move, couldn't run. She willed her body to move, but couldn't. She could only do one thing as Parker got closer to her. _

"Sadie? Sadie! Wake up!"

Sadie woke with a start and cried. She shot up and looked around at the confused faces staring at her. But she didn't know where she was or who they were. She kept screaming and ran to find somewhere to hide. What if Parker was here? What if they were with him? Where was her dad?

"Sadie! What's wrong?" Polly asked, trying to get her to come out from behind the sofa.

Sadie shook her head and cried.

"I'll go get your mom." Katie said and ran to find Shanna.

Sadie was panting, trying to get Parker's face out of her mind. She wanted her dad, where was her dad?!

Shanna came downstairs wearing a robe, a teenage boy followed her along with Polly's dad.

"What's going on?" Polly's brother Ethan asked.

"Sadie had a bad dream!" Katie said, leading Shanna to Sadie.

"Harley, call her parents!" Shanna said to her husband, then turned to Sadie, "Sadie, hun, you're at Polly's house, we're calling your parents now. It's okay."

Sadie shook her head. She wouldn't believe a thing these people said until she saw her dad.

…..

"Sir, a Mr. McKinnon is on the phone."

"Who?" Tony mumbled into his pillow. He and Pepper were lying naked among the sheets, he was face down, his face planted into his pillow, while Pepper lay on her side, hogging the sheets.

"He says it's urgent and it's about Sadie, sir."

"Okay." Tony grunted and moved onto his back, "Put him through." He said with his eyes closed. Probably a teacher calling extra early in the morning.

"Hello?" Tony ground out.

"Mr. Stark? You're Sadie's dad, right?" a male voice said, coming on the line.

"Yeah."

"Sorry to wake you up, but I'm Polly's dad and Sadie seems to have had a nightmare and is screaming pretty bad asking for you."

"What?" What was this moron talking about Sadie was downst-

Tony shot up and remembered Sadie was at a slumber party, "Is she okay?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and trying in the dark to find his pants.

"She's okay, she's starting to calm down now, but she's very shaken. Did you want to talk to her?"

"Yeah, put her on." He said, rubbing his face, still trying to find his clothes.

"Here he is…" he heard the man say.

Sadie came on the line and was panting heavily, "Daddy?" she cried.

"Sade's what's going on?" he asked, sitting on the bed, Pepper finally woke up and listened.

"I'm okay now. It was just a bad dream again." She said.

"You want me to come get you?"

"No! I'm fine."

"Sadie…"

"I'm fine." She reiterated and he sighed.

"Okay, we'll come get you in the morning. We'll have a talk."

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm okay now."

He rubbed his eyes again, "Whatever you say, but if you wake up screaming again, I'm coming to pick you up, got it?"

"Okay." She said, "Night."

"Night Sadie."

"Mr. Stark?" a female voice said, coming on, "I'm Shanna, Polly's mom. Is everything all right?"

"She sometimes has nightmares, but they go away after a while. She should be okay now." He said.

"All right, well, we'll call you if anything happens."

"Thanks."

"Night, sir."

Tony laid back down and Pepper followed suit.

"Will she be okay, Tony?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Not sure, but I have a feeling we've been ignoring the nightmares for far too long." He admitted.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Hill and ask for a psychologist?" she asked.

"Might be our best call, but if she's my daughter, which she is, I'm betting she won't talk to one."

Pepper had to agree with that.

They fell asleep only to wake up to Jarvis announcing that there was someone at the door.

Tony mumbled, getting up, he pulled on his pants without making sure he had underwear on and went to answer the door. What greeted him nearly made him jump out of his skin.

"Hey Stark."

"Rogers?!"

….


	7. Chapter 7

Whew! I am sorry for some of the delays everybody. I am getting ready to begin all of my research papers while working part time, so I'm a little tired these days. I still find time to write, though and love it.

I won't lie, I have some fiction I am writing again, which is awesome because I stopped writing ages ago thinking I sucked. But because I've been feeling so great about my writing on fanfic, and because you all send me great reviews, I am not only in the process of creating a new Grimm fanfic, I am also in the process of writing two new fictions! So awesome! If you want to read excerpts from my fiction or know what I'm writing about and my style, let me know. I'm interested to see if it's any good.

Thanks for being patient and I hope you enjoy the bonding between Sadie and Steve.

…

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked as he let Steve in.

Tony looked him over, "You look like you're caught up to speed on our latest trends." He remarked.

"You look like you haven't decided on one." Steve smirked. Tony grumbled about being woken up by a 90 year old child.

Steve chuckled.

He was wearing what the kids these days called American Eagle Outfits. He preferred this brand. The clothes represented America and were somewhat close to his style from the 40's. He'd take it.

He finally cast aside khakis and wore jeans instead. And although he was attached to his plaid shirts, he found people were less likely to stare at him if he wore it as a jacket instead over a t-shirt. Today though, he played it simple with a t-shirt and his signature leather jacket.

He followed Tony into his house and looked around, "Impressive place." He said.

"Yeah, it's okay; it's been remodeled a few times, but can't complain." Tony said leading him to the kitchen.

"Sorry to wake you up." Steve said.

Tony shrugged, "So what brings you around here? Please tell me it's not some stupid SHIELD thing again."

Steve took a seat at the table while Tony made coffee, "Actually I've been roaming around, and trying to…make sense of everything and my journey's brought me here."

Tony nodded, "Nice of you to wanna visit me."

Steve grinned, "Actually it's more a visit for Sadie than anything."

Tony narrowed his eyes, "Tryin' to steal my kid? Get in line, too many people have tried and failed on that end."

Steve laughed, "Nah, I feel bad I missed your party, thought I'd stop by instead."

Tony nodded, "You missed quite a shindig. Barton pissed off Romanov."

Steve laughed, "Wouldn't surprise me."

"Good morning Tony, please tell me that's coffee!" Pepper said coming down. Tony didn't turn around in time to warn Pepper that Steve was here.

He heard a shriek and caught a glimpse of slender legs running away. He had a feeling she had only come down in her lingerie.

Steve blushed and glanced at Tony awkwardly.

"Get your own." Tony threatened.

"Get my own what?" Steve asked.

Tony rolled his eyes.

…

Sadie sat with everybody at the table and ate her pancakes. Nobody questioned her about last night. She was relieved it was forgotten. She'd lied and said she slept better but the truth was she hadn't slept a wink after the nightmare. She felt tired, but shrugged it off and pretended to be just fine.

"Ethan used to wet his bed." Polly told her to make her feel better.

"MOOM!" Ethan whined, "She's so embarrassing!"

"Polly be nice, Ethan, use mature language around the girls." Shanna said, cooking more pancakes.

The girls giggled, making Sadie feel better.

One by one the girls started leaving, thanking Polly for inviting them.

Sadie was glad she was the last one to leave; she didn't know if her dad would pick her up or Pepper.

She groaned when she heard her dad come inside, thanking Shanna and Harley for inviting Sadie and apologizing for the nightmare scare.

He came in and Polly grinned at him, Ethan stopped playing his video game and stared in shock.

Sadie grabbed her stuff and hugged Polly, "Thanks for inviting me."

"You're welcome! See you on Monday!" she said and glared at Ethan, "You tell anybody you're a dead man!" she threatened and winked at Sadie.

Tony led her to the car but didn't say anything. She crawled in and he sped off. They were silent for a while until he started driving every which way and eventually brought up what she knew he'd been skirting.

"You've been having nightmares a lot lately." He mentioned.

"So. I said I was fine, let it go." She said, looking out the window.

He sighed, "Sade's, it's either you tell me or you tell a shrink."

She looked up, shocked.

"Pepper thinks you need to see a doctor. And I'm starting to think you need to as well." He admitted.

"I'm not seeing any more doctors!" she said, indignantly.

"Then spill. What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it. It's over. I'm done." She said, sitting back.

"Sadie-"

"I said I'm DONE!" she screamed and ignored him.

He sighed and decided he was obviously getting nowhere. He finally just gave up and drove home.

…..

Sadie walked inside, feeling annoyed. She had every intention of going to her room to be alone until she saw Steve sitting at the table chatting with Pepper.

Sadie smiled widely and ran to hug him.

"STEVE!" she squealed and he reached down to hug her, "When did you get here?" she asked.

"This morning." He said, as she sat down, "How was your first sleepover?" he asked.

Sadie smiled and giggled as she told him about all the cool stuff that had happened and Pepper was impressed at how patiently he listened as she jabbered on about her new school, her bike, and dancing.

Tony finally came up and shook his head at Pepper. She frowned and knew that meant Sadie was going nowhere with the nightmare thing.

Pepper excused herself and knew she had no choice but to call Dr. Hill for a Psychologist.

Sadie finally took a breath and asked Steve where he'd been and what he was doing.

Tony listened in and listened as Steve recounted his days riding on his motorcycle exploring America. He'd been to different libraries, stayed in a million different places, checked out the museums and cities hoping to find some things that hadn't changed. He had also been learning and catching up on technology, music, and culture, hoping to make sense of everything he'd left behind. It wasn't easy, but he found he was enjoying the journey. It was helpful in many ways, though it was proving difficult in other areas. Libraries were now packed with computers and fewer books, museums were using more technology than actual people, kids were using slang Steve didn't understand. It became a culture shock when he visited new places, realizing how different parts of the country were and how many different kinds of people lived here.

Sadie was intrigued by his adventures and was very amazed at how much one person could miss after being gone for so long. She thought she'd had it rough being out for two months before getting her chest piece, but Steve had years to catch up on.

He finally took a sip of his lukewarm coffee and asked her how her new bike was.

"Daddy and I are gonna put on hand brakes." She said proudly, "I have trouble pedaling backwards to stop it, it confuses me."

He nodded, "If you're not too busy today, I should teach you my favorite past time."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Baseball."

"I've never played!" she said, excitedly.

Tony rubbed his eyes, he really wanted to talk to Sadie about her nightmares and maybe get her handbrakes installed today, but maybe she just needed a day to forget everything.

He shrugged, "Don't wreck the house." He ordered and Steve led Sadie outside.

…..

All Steve could do was use a baseball and glove he'd brought and find a stick thick enough to use as a bat. They played in Tony's enormous driveway and Sadie had fun trying to swing at the ball. Steve decided to show her a few pointers with the bat, letting her be the pitcher, only he ended up breaking a window to Happy's car, causing both him and Sadie to hightail it inside.

Sadie giggled and her Dad came upstairs then and raised his eyes at Steve, "If you're going to show my daughter how to play a sport, don't use such cheap crap." He said and led them downstairs and had Jarvis make a holographic baseball setting, to which each of them ended up playing for two hours, causing Tony and Steve to fight over the score for another hour after that.

"Sir, I believe Captain Rogers hit a home run and is indeed safe by .56 seconds." Jarvis said.

Steve grinned, "This is better than a referee at a game." He smirked.

Sadie giggled and rubbed her eyes, realizing the events from yesterday were finally catching up to her.

Tony noticed it and gestured to Steve to look at Sadie.

Steve smiled, "Tired Sadie?"

She quickly perked up, "NOPE!" she grinned.

He laughed, "I think I am, all those years in ice can really do a number on your sleep cycle."

She shook her head, "I'm okay." She smiled.

"I remember when I was a sick little nerd, always being tired and needing sleep. Then they made me some super soldier and I realized how much I missed taking naps and getting rest cause all of a sudden I was busy 24/7." He said, pretending to yawn.

Sadie smiled and shrugged.

"I think I'm gonna take a rest, how about you?" he asked her. She shrugged and again and finally nodded.

Tony was impressed. Not even Pepper, Bruce, or even Rhodey had been able to calmly broach the issue of naps with Sadie before without pissing her off.

He watched as Steve led her upstairs and felt a pang of jealousy. It was short-lived however as he decided to continue with her bike. He'd one up Steve, that's for sure. His kid was gonna have a killer bike!

….

Steve left Sadie on her bed to take a nap and noticed a book on her shelf. He opened it and found her baby pictures inside. He frowned as he looked at all the surgery ones.

He could remember the argument he had with Tony on the Hellicarrier about how Sadie deserved better. From the looks of things, she had gone downhill pretty bad until Tony saved her life.

He heard her mumbling in her sleep and moving around. He looked over and narrowed his eyes, watching her struggle and pant. Kala whined on the floor.

She began crying and he didn't know how to help her without scaring her. He could remember having night terrors as a kid from all the bullying and he knew it was better to let them come out of it than to wake them up and confuse them.

Sadie moaned and started crying for her dad and yelling the word 'no' to some guy named Parker.

Steve sat and waited for her to come out of it.

She gasped for breath and sat up, clutching her chest and choking on her sobs.

He rubbed her back, "Take it easy, Sadie, let it out."

She sucked in some ragged breaths and finally let them out.

She looked tearfully at Steve and rubbed her eyes.

"Who's Parker?" he asked. He noticed she got paler as he said the name, her eyes became darker and fresh tears were forming, "Did he hurt you?"

She nodded, "He took me from my daddy and hit me."

Steve nodded and listened.

"He used a belt…Daddy won't wear them around me because of it."

Steve thought back and realized that Tony never did wear belts, not that he needed to but it caused him to look down and breathe a sigh of relief that he hadn't worn one today.

"Heather told me to take a pill so I wouldn't feel anything…but I didn't. And I should have." Sadie cried.

"He did more than hit you, didn't he?" Steve said, calmly.

Sadie sobbed quietly and nodded, "I haven't told anybody. I don't want Daddy to look at me funny."

"He won't. You're still Sadie."

"He did something really bad…and I let him."

"You're right, he did do something bad, but that is not your fault." Steve said sadly, wishing to God he could find the asshole and tear him a new one, "You know, when I was fighting in the war, I saw a lot of people who were hurt in the villages I helped save. Some of them were women, much older than you. Nazi's had hurt them the same way. They felt the same way you do."

Sadie looked at him, "Did they have nightmares and cry?"

He nodded. Truth be told, he'd never really met with many of them, but had seen the damage that had been done. Women had been beaten and bruised, their pride taken away and he saw what it did to them. It gave him nightmares all the time.

"Daddy says I have to talk about it." She said sadly.

"You're telling me about it." He commented.

She sat up and realized what she'd done. She looked embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed, Sadie. Do you feel any better?" he asked.

She thought about it for a minute and suddenly it didn't feel so bad to know that women older than her could have the same problems and still feel the same way.

"Steve?" she asked, "Do men still hurt women today? The way Parker did with me."

He nodded sadly, "Unfortunately, when I woke up, things were very different…but there were still some things that hadn't changed and that is one of them."

"When will the nightmare stop? Did any of the women tell you?"

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you. But I think you're on the right track telling somebody. Maybe you should talk a little more with your dad about it. I'm not exactly a wiz at this sort of thing."

"Daddy isn't either." She said, looking down.

"I wouldn't know about that…rumor is he gets more women in his bed than-" he stopped himself before he said anything else as Sadie's face grew nervous.

"Has daddy…hurt anybody…in that way?" she asked.

"NO! No! Of course not!" Steve said, wanting to punch himself, though he wouldn't know if that was true or not, "I meant that he knows more about sex and that sort of subject."

Sadie grew nervous, "Daddy won't hurt me." She said, more to herself than to him.

"Exactly! That man took on Thor and me at the same time. And yet, he became the biggest sap once you came into the room." He laughed, remembering how tough Tony was on the Hellicarrier and through the battle, one-upping everyone and making snide comments to belittle them all. Yet as soon as Sadie was around, he turned into Father of the Year.

"Daddy loves me." She smiled.

"Who wouldn't?" he chuckled.

She frowned, "How come I could tell you and not my daddy?" she asked, suddenly feeling odd about the whole thing.

Steve sighed, "Not sure, but maybe now that you've told me you can tell him too."

He thought back and remembered Bucky, his childhood friend. He told Bucky more secrets than anyone in his family. Bucky was like his brother and they weren't even related.

"Some people you just feel better about telling a secret to." He admitted.

She shook her head, "I don't want daddy to find out. Please don't tell him!" she begged.

He glanced at her apologetically, "Sadie, I can't keep something like that from your dad. I'll try not to say anything, but if he asks me, I have to tell him the truth."

Sadie looked down, sadly.

"Honestly, I think he already knows."

She gasped, "You think he does?" she cried.

He nodded, "Dads can tell when their kids are in trouble." He smiled.

She looked around her room and rubbed her eyes again, deciding to get up.

"Steve, can you stay here forever?" she asked.

He laughed a little, "I can't, I have some business I still have to take care of. Places to go and people to see."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I promise you will." He smiled.

…..

Tony sat at the kitchen table, his head in his hands. He wanted so desperately to go into the room where his daughter was crying and telling Steve everything, but not him.

He felt like the crapiest father in the world for not getting to the bottom of everything sooner. Now he really wished he'd killed Parker instead of just throwing him around the house and banging him up good.

He prayed he was suffering in prison the way he made Sadie suffer. The thought of him being used by some creep in jail brought a satisfied grin to Tony's face.

Steve and Sadie came out and Sadie looked a little nervously at her dad. He could tell she was wondering if he'd heard everything.

"I thought you two were back outside?" he said, feigning ignorance and Sadie looked relieved.

Steve, however, smiled knowingly and walked towards the table.

"Sadie, hun, did you still want to go with me to the store?" Pepper asked, coming out.

Sadie nodded and ran to go grab her jacket.

Tony was relieved. He had a bone to pick with Steve before he left.

Once the girls left, Steve sat down and waited for Tony to say what was really on his mind.

"I guess I don't have to ask why my kid is having nightmares." Tony said.

Steve nodded, "Don't beat yourself up, Stark, I failed quite a few people myself. And the majority of them are dead."

Tony looked up at him sadly, "You ever fall in love?"

Steve nodded, "Peggy…"

"Who?" Tony asked.

"Her name was Peggy. I promised her we'd go dancing when the war was over." He said sadly, "There were so many things I would have said to her, to tell her how I really felt."

Tony glance around for a minute. Where had he heard that name before?

"She was incredible." Steve said, reminiscing while Tony only half listened, "British dame, real sassy, but killer with a gun." He laughed.

"Whoa! Wait! Aunt Peggy?" Tony said aloud.

"What?" Steve asked.

"My dad would drag me and my brother to England all the time to visit some older chick who made us call her Aunt Peggy." He said, "I always thought she was nuts, to be honest. Always talking about finding the right dance partner and shit." He mumbled, "Her house smelled like soup and we both found her gun collection under her bed. We thought she was preparing for the end of the world or something."

"You know Peggy?" Steve asked.

"If you and I are thinking of the same Peggy, then…yeah." Tony said.

"She's alive?" Steve breathed.

"She'd be in her 90's now, but she might have died since I last saw her. I'll check it out." Tony said.

Steve was stunned from hearing this. Then again, it made sense. Howard Stark and Peggy were close friends, maybe they did keep in touch after he'd died.

Tony got up to go search for his Aunt Peggy's information.

"Tony…" Steve said.

Tony turned.

"Thanks." Steve said, smiling.

"Just returning the favor." Tony said, smiling back.

…


	8. Chapter 8

Sadie tried not to cry as Steve rode with her to school. He had informed her that he would be getting a lift, via Stark Jets, to England that afternoon.

They all got out as kids were filing into school. For once, Sadie didn't feel like joining them.

"I'll be back, I promise." He told her, smiling.

She hugged him, but wouldn't say a word.

Tony looked away sadly.

"Bye Steve." She said and turned, running into school so she could find the nearest bathroom to cry in.

Tony felt bad but hopefully school would take her mind off of Steve leaving.

"Thanks for doing this." Steve said as they drove towards the jet. Happy would make sure Steve got his motorcycle there.

"Like I said, returning the favor." Tony said.

"You never explained that to me." Steve said, "How is this returning the favor?"

"Sadie has never told anyone about what happened to her, not even to me." Tony admitted, "I just brushed it off and I think that was a bad idea. I'm so used to just being able to move on that I thought she was just like me enough to do it as well."

Steve nodded, "Where is the bastard?"

Tony smirked, "Jail, where he belongs."

Steve shook his head, "Not enough, guy should be incinerated."

Tony nodded at that and couldn't agree more.

"Why'd he do it?"

"Beats me. I didn't wait around for an excuse at the trial; I had a kid waiting to be picked up from the hospital."

"You know, where I come from, guys like that didn't live long enough to tell the tale."

"I made sure he suffered before the cops got him." Tony smiled.

He remembered leaving Sadie upstairs and finding Parker and slamming him into the wall a few times and knocking him through the glass window. The guy looked like a punching bag at the trial.

Tony realized he hadn't thought about it much afterwards. He too was trying to forget his failure at saving his daughter. Maybe that wasn't a good idea. Sadie had been trying to talk to him all along and he hadn't listened.

"Tell Aunt Peggy I said 'hey'." Tony said as they pulled up.

Steve looked nervous, "She won't recognize me."

"You kidding, you haven't changed a bit!" Tony said and Steve gave him a look.

"Seriously, I think she'll be thrilled to see you." Tony said, trying to comfort Steve.

"Thanks again, Stark."

"Call if you need anything Rogers." Tony saluted and watched as his jet took off with Steve. He sat back and thought of everything that had happened. He wished he could just move on but truth was, life went on and the bad stuff didn't always go away. Heck, he was a superhero, even he knew that logic. Shame he hurt Sadie by not realizing it till now.

He prayed she was doing well in school.

….

"Okay class, it's time to start thinking of your research projects. This will be a project due at the end of the year. The best reports and findings will get presented at the annual Stark Industries Young Scientists Fundraiser. Every student at the school participates and puts a lot of effort into their findings. I hope to see some stellar papers this year. Any questions?"

Sadie listened and was shocked. She'd forgotten her dad's company had a fundraiser for young scientists in the state of California. She'd heard of kids as young as seven years old presenting their reports at booths during a science fair and some during the dinner. But only three would present for the grand prize that would help raise money for their school.

"These papers will also be a finalizing grade this year, so make it count even if you don't get in."

The students nodded and Polly glanced at Sadie, who looked down.

"I'm going to come around and talk to each of you about what you plan to research. For those of you waiting for me, talk amongst yourselves and start working on your math homework."

The students got out their workbooks while they also discussed their research ideas.

"I'm gonna do some research on technology or something with computers. Maybe I'll design a new program!" Arthur said, excitedly, "What about you guys?"

"I'm thinking of doing something relating to NASA. Maybe some astrophysics or something." Tanner commented.

Sadie made a mental note to get him in touch with Selvig for his project.

"I'm doing a study on nutrition and the idea behind ending world hunger." Polly said, proudly.

Sadie looked down and shrugged, "I'm not sure yet." She mumbled.

Truth was, she didn't want to participate. She didn't want to get first place just because her dad was Tony Stark.

She'd certainly do the paper, but she had to convince the teacher that she absolutely could not enter the competition.

"Oh, before I forget," Mrs. Wile said, interrupting Sadie's thoughts, "We are also taking a field trip to Stark Industries next week, make sure you take your permission slips home. Rumor has it that we'll get to meet Mr. Stark, the CEO if he's around that day."

"No way! Iron Man!" a kid yelled excitedly.

"Not Iron Man, Mr. Stark. And if we do meet him, we will be asking questions about his company and the science only." She clarified.

A few kids gasped and got excited, while others moaned. Polly looked nervously at Sadie, who was sinking into her chair and turning green.

…

"Mrs. Wile?" Sadie said coming up to the teacher's desk once the class had left.

"Did you need something Sadie?"

"It's my research paper."

"Do you know what you want to do?"

"I do, but I can't enter the competition."

"Why not? I think you'd be good at it."

Sadie sighed, "My dad is Tony Stark."

She nodded, "I know, I met him." She laughed.

Sadie stared at her, "So you know why I can't enter this competition?"

Mrs. Wile leaned back in her chair and looked at Sadie, "Sadie, I think this is something you should do, regardless of who your father is."

"What if I win and it makes the other kids jealous?"

She smiled, "Sadie, I know all about you. I know you were bedridden for years and excelled in education way beyond Third Grade."

Sadie stared at her in shock.

"I'm an old friend of Jimmy's." she grinned, "Trevor's my brother."

"I think you would benefit writing a paper for this school and presenting at your father's benefit. Keep in mind, you'd be winning for the school."

"What if I don't win?"

"Then you're still the same Sadie everyone loves here. And if you win, you're the girl who got us the first prize!"

Sadie finally smiled for the first time that day and nodded.

"Now, what were you thinking of researching?"

"I want to do more research in anti-electron collisions. I did a paper while I was sick, and I met Dr. Bruce Banner. I want to expand his research and mine. I know it's scary to think about, considering it could really affect nuclear and atomic bombs and such, but maybe we can find a way to control it."

Mrs. Wile smiled, "Now that is what I call a research paper."

"There's one more thing…" Sadie said, "The field trip."

Mrs. Wile rolled her eyes, "We are not going down that road Sadie, that's up to your father at this point."

Sadie sighed. She knew a dismissal when she heard one.

…..

One week later, Sadie was sitting on the couch with her father doing her homework when Pepper came in holding a piece of paper.

"Sadie what's this?" Pepper asked.

Sadie looked over at Pepper and saw the permission slip for the field trip in her hands. She blushed.

What's up?" Tony asked, looking over from his spot next to Sadie on the couch.

"Nothing." Sadie said quickly.

"Sadie, it's a permission form for a field trip to Stark Industries."

Tony raised his eyebrows, "We have field trips at my company?"

"Tony you've talked to kids who've come before." Pepper said, annoyed.

"Yeah, but I was always drunk or hung-over." He shrugged.

"Point is…" Pepper said, rolling her eyes, "Sadie, the field trip is tomorrow! Why haven't you given us this form?"

"I had no clue we had a field trip coming tomorrow." Tony admitted, "I should speak, since it's your class."

"There's a note from the teacher asking if Tony can speak as well." Pepper said, looking at Sadie.

"Then it's settled, I'll come in and speak." Tony said.

"No!" Sadie said.

"Oh boy." Pepper mumbled, finally realizing what was going on, "Sadie, have you told anyone who your father is?"

Sadie blushed and Tony looked affronted.

"You haven't told anyone who I am?" he asked, "But I got you a bunch of Iron Man stuff, we have the same last name, I've even pick you up! How do they not even know?"

"Because I haven't told them." She admitted.

"Sadie, why haven't you told anyone?" Pepper asked, sitting on the coffee table.

"Because I don't want them to like me for my dad, I want them to like me for me." She said, looking down.

Pepper smiled and nodded, Tony however, looked outraged.

"Sadie, I'm a part of you!" he said, "A big part."

"He's right." Pepper said, "You can't keep hiding who you are, Sadie. And because of this, I am letting Tony sign the form and am letting him speak for your class tomorrow."

Sadie groaned and put her head in her hands.

Tony looked victorious.

"But…" Pepper continued, "He is not allowed to say he is your father or acknowledge that fact in front of your class."

Sadie looked up and could see a ray of hope through this. She smiled and looked at her dad, who seemed to deflate in front of them.

"We'll let them figure it out on Career Day next month." Pepper said, getting up.

Tony felt victorious again and Sadie was still looking green.

Maybe she could fake sick tomorrow.

…


	9. Chapter 9

Sadie's stomach was in knots during the bus ride to her dad's company. Polly sat next to her and would glance at her nervously the whole way there. She'd smile and hope it made Sadie feel better, but Sadie was still turning green.

The kids were cheering as the company got closer. Polly squeezed her hand and got off with the rest of the class.

Once outside, they met with a tour guide, a nice looking lady who looked like a flight attendant.

All in all it was a nice tour; they got to see some of the factories and even the Arc Reactor itself. They were also beginning projects on the newest weapons manufacture as well as clean energy.

Sadie was impressed with the tour and with the speakers. They knew their stuff and the class was having a blast.

It was lunch time though and there was still no sign of her father anywhere. Sadie was getting nervous. They all sat down at an outdoor patio and Mrs. Wile had the teacher's aide stay with the class while she took three volunteers to help carry food. She ended up picking Sadie, Tanner, and Heather.

The indoor eating area had different take out places, it looked almost like a food court at a mall. Only it was covered in Stark.

While waiting in line to help, Sadie's stomach churned when she heard someone call her name.

"Hey Sadie! I saw your class earlier!"

She turned and saw Bruce coming towards them.

Tanner and Heather gave her a funny look.

She looked down and waved quickly, hoping he'd ignore her.

He got in line behind them, "You see your dad yet?" he asked her.

"Your dad works here?" Heather asked.

"Is he a factory worker or does he work in an office?" Tanner asked.

Bruce would have laughed had Sadie not given him a death glare. He officially knew now why Tony was kept in line. Her looks could murder.

He cleared his throat and decided to leave.

"Will you get to see your dad today?" Tanner asked.

Sadie didn't answer and was glad the food was ready for them to carry in bags.

They started walking down a hall covered in pictures of the Stark family.

Heather walked by a portrait of Tony Stark hanging up, "I can't wait to see Tony Stark." She admitted.

Tanner suddenly stopped and looked at Sadie.

She glanced at him nervously and his mouth fell open, "You…you're…"

"Shh!" she hissed and walked away quickly, glad Heather hadn't noticed.

Once everyone had been seated, she sat by Polly and Tanner came over to them and began to whisper excitedly, "Your dad is Tony Stark!"

Polly glared at him, "Do I need to give you a knuckle sandwich?"

He didn't hear her and Sadie groaned, "Please…don't say anything…" she pleaded.

"Your dad is my hero!" he smiled.

"Tanner…please…" she pleaded.

"What's wrong? You're probably the luckiest kid here!" he said.

Sadie looked down.

"She doesn't want anyone to know because she doesn't want anyone to think differently of her." Polly explained, "So in other words, you say anything, I kill you slowly and painfully."

Tanner finally looked at Sadie and crossed his heart, "I promise I won't say anything, Sadie. You can count of me." He smiled.

She relaxed a little, "Thanks Tanner."

He smiled and couldn't help but feel incredible that the girl he had the biggest crush on was the daughter of his favorite superhero!

….

Sadie was turning, if possible, a brilliant shade of lime green.

The class was in some kind of conference room that was set up for an audience. Polly, Tanner, and she sat in the back row. Polly squeezed her shoulder while Tanner held her hand.

"Don't worry Sadie; no one's going to find out." Tanner consoled her.

"You don't know my dad!" she moaned.

"I bet you he won't even see you!" Polly said, hoping to cheer her up.

The tour guide came in and finally introduced Tony Stark to the class. As he walked in, the kids cheered and clapped. He smiled and walked in, obviously full of himself.

"Oh he's so handsome…just like on his lunchboxes!" Brianna gushed.

Sadie rolled her eyes and scooted towards the floor to hide her face.

Tanner and Polly were clapping but also becoming concerned.

Tony finally sat in a chair at the front of the room and began to talk to the kids.

"You guys enjoy the tour?"

"Yeah!" they cheered.

"Awesome, what was your favorite part?"

While some of the kids told him and got out their notebooks to ask questions, Sadie finally felt secure enough to scoot up and look towards her dad. He was looking towards Heather and answering her question. Once he was done, he caught her eye immediately and winked.

Sadie couldn't hold it in anymore. The room started spinning.

"Sadie?" Tanner whispered.

Oh boy…Here it comes!

….

Tony looked up when he heard a retching sound and couldn't believe Sadie was doubled over and vomiting in the back row.

He got up immediately while every single head in the room turned towards Sadie.

He thought she was faking this morning, but maybe she hadn't been.

"Sadie…" he said and put his hand on her back, "Hun, you okay?" he asked her.

She moaned as her entire lunch lay on the floor in front of her.

He looked up and found her teacher, "I'll put her in my office and take her home later." He told her.

Mrs. Wile nodded and the kids were astounded as Tony Stark lifted Sadie and carried her to another room.

They were whispering, obviously concerned and Tony quickly walked past them.

He had to admit, for these kids being geniuses; they were pretty dumb not to realize who Sadie was. The sooner that came out the better in his opinion.

"Where are you taking her?" Arthur asked.

"Uh…" Tony said. He didn't want to break his promise to Pepper or Sadie, but, let's face it, he didn't want these kids going home and telling them Tony Stark kidnapped a girl.

He didn't have to when some kid in the middle row had an astounded look on his face, "Sadie Stark…Tony Stark. You guys! He's her dad!" he yelled.

The kids were suddenly buzzing with excitement. Two kids in the back were looking upset by the news and gave each other grave looks.

Tony decided to take his leave and break the news to Sadie on his couch.

….

Sadie moaned and woke up to see her dad putting a damp cloth on her forehead.

"Oh no…not you…" she moaned.

"Nice to see you too." He muttered.

"What happened?" she asked, coughing. She felt like crap.

He did his signature half grin and Sadie shot up.

Bad idea, the room was now spinning again.

"Take it easy, will you." He said, rolling his eyes.

"You told them!" she cried.

"Actually…no…they figured it out when I carried you." He shrugged.

She moaned and put her head in her hands, "This is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault? You're the one who threw up in my conference room. Not even I've done that and I was an alcoholic for crying out loud."

"If you'd let me stay home today-"

"Yeah, I probably should have, less of a mess."

He finally rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, "Is it really so bad that I'm your dad?"

Sadie sighed and sat back, "No. You're the world's greatest dad. I just didn't want to be so different for once."

"You're a Stark, and that means you're gonna be different no matter what. Get used to it, kid."

Sadie leaned into him and Tony finally felt better, but he had to admit, the past few weeks had been pretty odd for them both. Maybe normalcy was starting to take its toll.

They sat there in silence for a bit and Tony decided it was now or never to take her back out there to face her class. At least he'd be with her.

"Let's go turn some heads." He said.

She sighed and finally got up, "Let's do this. I want to have a slumber party at some point."

Tony groaned.

….

The class clapped and cheered as Tony came in carrying Sadie. She caught Tanner and Polly's eyes in the back row and they shrugged smiling and clapped with the rest of the class.

She would have joined her class, but when her dad sat down, she decided to stand and lean into his legs and hold his hand.

Everyone raised their hands.

"All you kiddo." Tony said.

"Yes Sean…"

"I figured it out first!" he said proudly.

"Nope!" Tanner said from the back, "Me and Polly knew before all of you!"

"And Sadie is still our friend!" Polly said proudly.

Sadie smiled.

"Have you ever gotten to wear a suit like your dad's?" another kid started asking.

After nearly thirty minutes of questions for Sadie, Tony finally decided to take over the company questions. Though Sadie was glad to help him with some of the other questions involving school homework and science.

"Can your dad come to career day!" someone asked.

Sadie looked at her dad and he shrugged.

"Should he come as Iron Man or Tony Stark?" Sadie asked.

"He should come as your dad, that's cooler than both of those combined!" Tanner said.

Sadie couldn't agree more.

…


	10. Chapter 10

Go check out Tumblr! neverland123 made another scrapbook page for Sadie and she also made an incredible cover for Snarky Stark, which is also my new avatar on this page!

I also wrote a Sawvenger cross that's also on Tumblr you should read. It's a comedy horror that involves Loki playing the part of Jigsaw and playing a little game with the avengers. Should be fun!

Thanks for all the reviews, keep em comin!

* * *

"Sadie, this is incredible!" Bruce said as he read Sadie's research with wide eyes.

Sadie was sitting at the table drinking the smoothie her father had tried to make her. She would have spit it out but her dad was sitting right there listening to Bruce talk about Sadie's paper.

"Sadie, you need to get this published, you could really change a lot in the electron physicist community." Bruce said, smiling.

"I'm submitting it for my school in Dad's Young Scientist Award." She said.

Tony smiled proudly, "You're gonna win."

She shrugged, "Arthur's developing a new computer program."

"I think I'm just going to give you all awards." Tony nodded.

"Dad, be fair."

He laughed, "Yeah right."

Pepper finally came in and motioned for Sadie to come over.

Sadie left Bruce and her dad to talk about the possibility of getting Sadie published and she quickly ran to Pepper.

"Sadie, I just got off the phone with Polly's mom and she wants to know if you or I would like to go to Makeover with Mom on Friday?"

Sadie was stunned. She had no clue they did things like that at her school, she nodded quickly and said, "Can we?"

Pepper smiled, "I think it would awesome." Then she looked towards Tony and whispered, "I know that your school is probably still recovering from the whole…field trip thing…but…"

Sadie looked up a little nervously, "There's a father daughter dance in a couple of weeks before Halloween. I haven't told Tony yet and I haven't signed either of you up…"

Sadie looked towards her dad. If he found out about the dance and didn't get to take her he'd be so sad.

"Sign us up! And I want to look at dresses." Sadie said.

Pepper smiled and got excited, "We'll go on Saturday after our makeover night."

"I didn't know the school did stuff like this." Sadie said.

"They also have mother son dancing and father son relays." Pepper said.

Sadie nodded; she didn't realize how fun school could really be. You watch shows with kids on TV and they all hate school. She didn't know how she survived without it so long. Course she was just trying to survive…

"Sade's!" Tony called, "I'm gonna have you submit this early, it has a possibility of going nationwide in a few weeks for the physicists conference in Stockholm." Tony said as he and Bruce talked.

Sadie shook her head and sighed, thinking of more important things at the moment; finding a dress so she could dance with her daddy.

…..

Pepper and Sadie had the time of their lives on Friday and Saturday. Tony had to go take care of something for SHIELD all weekend so it was nice to just have a girl's weekend to themselves for once.

"This is better than New York!" Sadie giggled as Pepper applied some golden eye shadow on Sadie's eyes.

Other girls sat at mirrored tables in a comfy room with lots of lights and candles. There were snacks and mixed non-alcoholic drinks and so many different products for hair and makeup, the girls had no clue what to do with themselves.

Sadie watched Polly giggle with her mom who was letting Polly apply a very liberal amount of red lipstick onto her mouth. Shanna tickled Polly and laughed, calling herself the Joker and threatened to kiss Polly on the cheek.

Across the way, Heather was closing her eyes as her mom dabbed some sparkles onto her eyelids.

Sadie frowned thinking for a moment about her mom. She never got to do anything like this with her mom and it made her sad.

"Okay, do we want pink or sassy red for the lips?" Pepper laughed, distracting Sadie.

Sadie looked up and smiled at Pepper and hugged her.

Pepper was stunned for a minute but hugged her back, "I didn't know lipstick was such a touching object." She laughed.

Sadie backed up and decided on pink. Pepper grinned and applied it to Sadie's dimpled smile, thanking God every moment for a girl like Sadie in her life.

….

Sadie walked outside after school, nice to finally feel normal again, though she had to admit, all the questions and autograph requests did get a little annoying. Through it all, everyone treated her just the same, but were more in awe of her.

She looked for Pepper and waited on the steps. She jumped when she saw Clint coming up to her. She smiled, but it was a nervous smile.

"Hey Sadie." He said coming up to her, "I know I tried to kidnap you months ago, but I'm actually here to take you home."

"Where's Pepper?" she asked.

He looked uncomfortable, "Pepper is with your dad at our LA headquarters."

"Is he okay?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, he's fine, ornery as ever."

"What's going on?" she asked, suddenly tearing up.

He finally got down on one knee in front her and looked her in the eyes sadly, "Something's happened and Fury asked me to come and get you home until your dad comes."

"He's not hurt?"

"No, he's fine, he's actually on his way, but he was worried he and Pepper wouldn't make it in time."

"In time for what?" she asked.

He looked around, "Can I tell you somewhere safe, I need to get you out of the public right now."

Sadie shook, but took his hand as he led her to his car. He got her inside and she noticed his eye was everywhere on the road, though he drove like a pro.

She was relieved to be home. At least he hadn't kidnapped her again.

He took her inside and she heard him call somebody through his earpiece, "I have her. Precious Cargo is safe. We're here at the Iron Base."

She would have laughed at all the code names but she still felt extremely uneasy. Kala found her and stood by her vigilantly.

"Can I get you something?" Clint asked her, leading her inside.

Sadie shook her head and put her book bag down and sat on the couch, still feeling sick to her stomach. And she didn't even know what was going on.

Clint went towards the kitchen, leaving Sadie on the couch, but she was still in his sight.

"News." She told Jarvis quietly.

She looked up and blanched, all the bile rising to her throat.

Evan Parker's face was on the screen.

"Sources say Parker is armed and dangerous. He escaped from a federal prison about five hours ago. Police are advising the public not to approach Parker, but to call 911 immediately if spotted."

"OFF!" Clint yelled coming in. He turned white as he watched Sadie staring at the screen in horror, her face turning green.

He got in front of her, "Sadie…"

She didn't say anything, but she did start to breath heavily.

"Sadie!" Clint yelled, gently grabbing her face so she could see him, "We're not gonna let him touch you."

She continued to pant.

"I promise we won't let him get you, okay, we're on this. Nothing is gonna happen, Sadie!" he repeated.

She shook, "I want my dad! Where's my dad?!" she screamed.

He sighed and finally spoke to his earpiece, "She saw the news. Stark, she doesn't look good, better get here fast."

…..

Clint had no clue what was taking so long. It had already been an hour and Stark still wasn't here. Sadie hadn't spoken and just kept shaking on the couch. He'd tried twice to pick her up, but she'd screamed, shoving him away and guarded her crotch the whole time.

He finally sat next to her and rubbed his face. After a while, she seemed to settle down and actually put her hand on his leg. He put his arm around her and realized she was slowly coming back and figured out he wasn't going to hurt her.

"Hello?" A voice called and Clint jerked up, getting his gun ready.

"Hello?" the voice called again, and Clint was relieved to see Bruce come in the doorway.

"Hey Barton, I got the call." he said, coming in carrying some pizza.

"You seriously got pizza?" Clint asked.

"Tony asked me to. Said people might need something to eat. Plus, its Sadie's favorite."

Clint nodded and Bruce got a look at Sadie who was clutching Kala on the sofa.

"She okay?" he asked Clint.

Clint shrugged and stared sadly at Sadie, "Don't think she knows what's really going on. Keeps asking for Stark."

Bruce nodded, "I've seen her get like this. I watched her one night while Tony and Pepper were out. Really makes a guy wonder…" he sighed, putting the pizza down.

"There is no wondering, this bastard put his hands on her in a way that really makes me wish I could cut somebody." Clint growled.

Bruce nodded, "Steve told me before he left."

"Yeah well, SHIELD found her the night it happened. I was the one who called it in. Stark got there before me, but from what we were hearing and seeing…" he said and shook his head.

Bruce nodded and walked towards Sadie, "Hey kiddo…" he said softly, "I brought pizza, your favorite."

She looked up at Bruce, crying and shook her head, "I want my daddy." She cried.

"He's coming, I promise. But he told me that if I don't get you to eat he'd annoy me and make me hulk out and I kinda don't want to do that." Bruce said, smiling.

Sadie smiled weakly for a second then went back to sulking.

"You want me to bring you a slice, better hurry; Barton's got his eye on that big slice of pepperoni."

Sadie finally looked up, "He's got his eye on everything." She joked.

Clint actually chuckled and Bruce laughed, "She's back!"

Clint finally got her a slice and brought it to her. She only took a few bites, but it seemed to take her mind off of what was really going on for a while.

Barton walked around and finally sighed with relief when he saw a car pull up. Tony and Pepper ran to the house.

"Sadie!" Pepper called, rushing in.

Sadie ran to them and Tony immediately picked her up as soon as he got inside.

He walked into the kitchen and nodded his thanks to Barton and Banner. He walked around with her for a bit and then went to put her to bed, Pepper followed him.

They could hear her crying for a while as Tony consoled her, but after about thirty minutes, he was able to come out and talk to them while Pepper stayed with her.

Fury finally walked in and nodded to everybody.

"How the hell did this happen?" Tony growled right away.

Fury looked sadly at him, "Honestly Stark, we have no clue, but we will find him and we'll make damn sure he stays where he's put next time."

"He's coming after Sadie, this guy is conniving and smart, we cannot underestimate him." Tony said, pacing.

"We know that Stark. We won't let that happen." Fury confirmed.

"How? Huh? How?!"

"Barton's on the scene and Natasha is close by, looking for leads. We won't let the bastard get away."

"You realize how badly this affects Sadie?" Tony asked, "That man raped her! She was eight, damnit!"

"This guy is a sicko, but that also makes him crazy, which means we can get him. Sadie's gonna be okay, Stark. We'll get the bastard."

"And what about Sadie? What is she supposed to do? Sit and freak out? Cry herself to sleep? Confine herself to the house and never see daylight?"

"For now, keep her home. Keep her safe. She'll be alright, Stark, we are handling this."

"Tell you what, you find the ass hole and let me kill him. Then maybe I can finally relax and sleep better at night knowing my daughter is rid of that monster."

"We can't kill him Stark." Fury sighed.

Tony stared at him.

"As much as we'd love to, we can't. He knows something we've been trying to find out for ages now."

"What's that?" Tony spat.

"He knows who killed your brother and his wife and why."

"I thought he did it."

"No…but he was involved. Something much bigger killed your brother."

"God, you know what, they are dead and once that ass hole is dead too I'll sleep better at night, so just, let Sadie be and-"

"Stark…these people want Sadie. You really think they just killed your brother and his wife and didn't give a second thought about Sadie? Stark, she is the reason they were killed. They want her for something. Something big."

Tony stared at Fury, "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.

Fury looked at Tony with a fiery gaze, "I'm talking about these people trying to use your daughter to end the world."

Tony gaped at him, "What are you talking about? Sadie would never do that…"

"She wouldn't want to, but that doesn't mean she couldn't. They would have found a way to make her help them. She is only eight years old."

Tony rubbed his face and paced, "You're telling me that some crazy terrorist group killed my brother and Sadie's mom because they wanted Sadie the whole time?"

Fury nodded.

Bruce shook his head and closed his eyes sadly.

Barton stared sadly at Tony, "You should probably start updating that tracking device Stark. Looks like the kidnapping spree on Sadie's gonna keep going."

Tony glared at them all, "Not if I can help it."

…


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a week and Parker had not been found. Tony was getting annoyed and he knew Sadie was getting cabin fever and missing school. But he wasn't ready to let her out of his sight just yet. Not with that monster on the loose.

He couldn't believe how blind he'd been not to realize Sadie was in more danger than he thought. And he just let her waltz off to school and dance lessons like it was no big deal.

And now he was nervous because she had Technology Camp on the weekends for an hour. It got her mind off of everything, but he made sure that Barton, Romanoff, or Happy were with her if he couldn't go.

She was starting to get testy and so was he. She hadn't slept in her own room for nearly four days in a row now, her nightmares were so bad. It was making everyone edgy and tired.

There came a point when he knew she had to get back to school to get things back to normal, regardless, but damn it all if he wasn't worried about that.

Needless to say it came as a shock when Pepper informed him of her school's father daughter dance coming up. He'd nearly forgotten, but felt glad that this was an activity he wouldn't miss.

Sadie's dress was adorable. Pepper had helped her find a royal purple sleeveless gown and she put Sadie's hair in an updo with a purple flower to match. Sadie felt like a queen for once and it was the first time since Parker had gotten out that she didn't feel upset or nervous. At least her dad would be with her.

Her dad wore a nice suit with a purple tie and Pepper was in tears as she took their pictures. Barton had to chuckle to himself as he watched the spectacle. Pepper eventually had to stop taking pictures because at that point Tony was just glaring daggers at Clint.

"At least I have a date." He mumbled walking by Clint, holding Sadie's hand.

Clint shook his head and continued with the lookout.

Tony began to finally relax as he and Sadie drove. It had been a while since it had just been the two of them and he was happy she was at least feeling better.

When they reached the school he could already see a lot of young girls dressed up with their dad's walking them inside wearing suits.

Sadie practically skipped as he walked her inside. He couldn't blame her; she hadn't really been able to talk to her friends for a while.

"Sadie!" Polly yelled and waved at her. Her dad was carrying her inside.

"Hi Polly!" Sadie waved back and was happy to wave at everyone else she hadn't seen in a while.

Sadie was obviously in her element as she ran to talk to her friends. Tony however, felt like a lost puppy and didn't even know how to begin talking to all these other dad's, who obviously knew each other and were happy to catch up.

Polly's dad finally came up and shook his hand, "Mr. Stark? I'm Harley, Polly's dad, we met before."

Tony shook his hand and smiled, "Call me Tony." He said.

"Or Iron Man." Another dad came over and laughed, shaking his hand as well, "My girl, Heather has done nothing but talk about being friends with the daughter of Iron Man!"

Tony felt awkward as each dad talked about their daughters and how smart they were. They finally looked at Tony as though expecting him to say something special about Sadie. Where to begin?

"Sadie's a great kid…" he started, then rubbed his neck, "You know I've never really bragged about her before in great detail." He laughed.

They smiled, waiting.

"You know Sadie is the one who helped perfect all of my Iron Man suits." He said.

They stared at him in wonder.

One man suddenly asked him, "I don't want to assume anything, but is she in the running for the Stark Young Scientist Award?"

"All the kids are. But I don't make the final decision." Tony said, hoping to alleviate their worries of a fixed competition.

They seemed satisfied with that.

"Daddy, come dance with me!" Katie whined grabbing her dad.

"Guess that's our cue." Katie's dad laughed and picked her up.

"Yeah, guess I'd better go find my little monster." Harley laughed.

Tony followed him. He had a feeling where Polly was, that's where Sadie would be.

Sure enough, both girls were talking animatedly by the punch bowl, giggling.

Harley grabbed Polly from behind making her squeal with delight. He spun her around and she giggled.

Tony finally came up to Sadie and held out his hand, which she took and followed him out to the dance floor. He picked her up and hugged her as he danced with her, moving to the music. He kissed her forehead and was happy that for once, they weren't worried about anything.

…..

Tony didn't know how much fun a party could be when it involved little girls dancing with their dads to popular music. And there wasn't even any booze around! Who would have thought.

He spun Sadie around, who was giggling and smiling. Best dance partner he'd ever had!

He was hoping to keep the party going until it ended at midnight, but he looked up and saw Natasha heading towards them. She was talking into her headpiece.

This couldn't be good.

She walked up to them and Sadie frowned. He picked her up and Natasha motioned for them to follow her. Tony looked up and noticed Clint walking around on the upper part of the gymnasium, looking around.

Natasha got them outside towards the playground and he put Sadie down, but didn't let go of her hand.

"He here?" Tony asked quietly, not wanting to scare Sadie.

Natasha nodded quickly, "He might be armed and I didn't want him going into the school with all those kids in there."

Sadie looked over, hearing something in the alley behind the school. She knew there was a dumpster there and figured it was a raccoon. She almost looked away when she saw him. He was quick, but she saw him.

She squeezed her dad's hand and shook, her eyes widening. She didn't look away or move.

Her dad was still talking to Natasha, so he squeezed her hand comfortingly, but it was the shaking that made him wonder.

He looked down and saw Sadie's look of terror as she stared into the dark. He looked over but didn't see anything.

"Sade's?" he asked.

"Did you see him?" Natasha asked, getting her gun ready and calling to Clint, "We have him in sights, move to the roof, he can't go far now!" She ran off to where Sadie had seen him. Tony picked her up and ran to the car. He quickly put her in the back seat and locked the car. He walked around the car and looked around, hoping to see Parker and lay into him. He walked a little further. He didn't want to leave Sadie's eyesight and scare her, but he really wanted to help catch this guy.

He walked a little further and he heard it. There was a crash as he looked over and saw Parker break the window of his car and reach in and try to grab Sadie who was screaming and kicking at him.

Tony rammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

They rolled and Parker came out on top and Tony got a good look at him. He'd cut his hair and had a nasty scar on his face, but it was definitely him.

He punched Tony in the face pretty hard and he saw stars for a minute. He could see Parker getting up and reaching back inside to grab Sadie. Tony bent his legs and kicked him hard in the shin, causing him to fall. Tony got up and kicked him in the face. He got down and began punching Parker.

He had to stop himself from killing the guy.

"That's for Sadie you sick fuck!" Tony panted, getting up and wiping the blood from his nose. He looked in the car and could see Sadie crying and trying to open the child lock doors. Tony quickly opened it and she crawled right into his arms. He couldn't stop staring at the creep who'd hurt his baby. It took Sadie crying in his arms to realize what was more important; taking care of her and not killing the bastard.

Natasha and Clint came over.

"He sure gave us the slip." Clint said, "She okay?" he asked Tony.

"I'm fine thanks." Tony said, "Sadie's good too."

Clint smiled and stared with disdain at the creep on the ground who was coughing up blood.

"Looks like he'll need some stitches." Natasha commented with disgust.

"Yeah whole lot of DAMN stitches." Clint said, stomping on Parker when he said "damn".

"We'll take him in and question him. After that we'll make sure he gets taken care of." Natasha said, calling for backup.

"You just get Sadie home, it's gonna be just fine now." Clint said, his foot still on Parker to keep him from going anywhere.

Tony couldn't agree more. He held on to Sadie and knew he was breaking a few laws letting her stay up front next to him as he drove.

He was luckily able to make it home in time. Pepper was in hysterics. SHIELD must have called her and told her what had happened.

Sadie reached for her and hugged her, "Mommy." She mumbled, crying.

"I know, you want your mom." Pepper said sadly, holding her.

Tony however, knew this was different. He stared at Sadie and Pepper. Sadie held on to her and just kept repeating, "Mommy." Sadie wasn't calling for her mom, she was calling Pepper mom.

He stared at Pepper lovingly and would have cried had he not been so happy to hear Sadie say those words. Pepper looked at him and he knew she'd figured it out as well.

Pepper burst into tears and Tony put his hand on her shoulder and nodded, smiling.

"I'm right here." She sobbed, holding Sadie. Tony hugged her and Sadie.


	12. Chapter 12

_In the spirit of Halloween, I am thrilled to make a Halloween chapter. I will also do a little more for Halloween, as I love this holiday! _

_Thank you Neverland 123 for giving me the request to do a Halloween chapter and for giving me some of the dialogue at the end to use. This chapter's for you!_

….

Halloween was in the air and Tony couldn't have been more excited. There were at least 5 reasons why he loved Halloween:

Costume Party at Stark Industries. Booze, costumes, games, and a number of other shenanigans only he could successfully pull off.

All the freaking candy.

Horror movie marathons on TV.

Iron Man merchandise, mainly costumes, were ringing in the dough.

Sadie's first Halloween with him.

He was surprised to learn how much she loved Halloween, course she'd only remembered a couple when she wasn't bed ridden, but she was excited to finally have a Halloween to remember.

He wanted to make it spectacular. She'd been through way too much and he was tired of letting her down. He was throwing a Halloween party at his house for the kids at her school.

Pepper was in a state of euphoria. She normally hated Halloween, but when it came to kids and when it came to Sadie, she was more than happy to please.

Tony decided to go ahead and make an appearance as Iron Man for the kids. He'd asked Bruce to maybe do the Hulk for them, but both SHIELD and Bruce were not thrilled with the idea. He wanted to maybe get Steve and Thor to come for the kids, but Thor didn't exactly have service in Asgard and Steve was in Europe digging for roots.

He'd just have to make do. And he'd do it in style!

First, Sadie needed to wear a costume that made a statement and showed off that she was indeed his kid.

Pepper however, got to her before he could. He had a mind to make her a mini suit for Halloween to match him, but when Pepper showed him the Southern Bell costume she got for her, he broke down and couldn't resist. His daughter would be a princess in the costume for sure. Next year he'd get the drop on Pepper and actually make her a suit. He'd get a head start on it in January.

She must have read his mind, because as she put the costume back in the box, she gave Tony a look, "Don't you dare make her mini suit fly or shoot things."

"Relax Pep, it will be a costume."

"I don't know if your idea of a costume is the same as what I'm thinking." She mumbled.

…..

Pepper helped get Sadie ready for her party. Sadie stared at her reflection in the mirror and gasped. Pepper had indeed gone all out. She found a white gorgeous Southern Bell ball gown with emerald green trim and sash. To hide her chest piece, Pepper had gotten the same emerald material and added an extra collar to the cleavage. Her hair had been curled and styled to go with the matching white hat with a green ribbon and white roses in it. Pepper had even put on just a little makeup for an extra effect.

Sadie felt so amazingly grown up staring at herself. She smiled and turned to Pepper.

"I love it!" she cried, happily.

Pepper couldn't have been more excited.

"Where's your costume?" Sadie asked.

Pepper grinned mischievously, "It's a surprise."

"For me or for Daddy?" Sadie laughed.

"Well, you'll be surprised, Tony will be…."

Sadie grinned and giggled. She finally heard people coming in. Her friends and their parents were starting to arrive.

"Do I look pretty?" she asked Pepper.

Pepper took her face in her hands, "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever loved." Pepper said and kissed her forehead.

….

Tony was glad he wasn't the only Avenger in the room. Bruce had come wearing a wolf mask. That was about as far as he would go when it came to Halloween. Rhodey showed up and Tony was surprised to see him dressed as a rodeo cowboy.

At least Tony looked badass compared to all these yahoos.

Sadie finally came out with a costume-less Pepper. Figures, the most she ever did was put on a cat mask and wear a sweater and call it an evening.

Tony's breath caught when he got a good look at Sadie. She twirled for him.

"You like my costume, Daddy?" she asked.

He bent down, rather awkwardly, as he was in his suit, "Sade's you look incredible." He said.

She smiled and then waved as Polly and her family came in. Polly was dressed as Merida from Brave, carrying a bow and everything. Sadie would have laughed if Clint showed up. That would have been quite a scene.

More kids showed up, mostly girls dressed as princesses and boys dressed as either Transformers or superheroes. There was an animal here and there, but it was pretty much the same.

Sadie smiled when Tanner finally showed up in his Iron Man costume.

He immediately came up to her, "Sadie, you look beau-beautiful." He choked, blushing.

"Thanks Tanner, I really like your costume." Sadie said.

Some of the girls sniggered watching them.

Tony finally came over and Tanner gaped.

"Daddy, this is my friend Tanner, Tanner, this is my Daddy." Sadie said, politely.

Tony held out his hand, "Cool costume kid, you have good taste." Tony said, smiling.

"Thanks sir!" Tanner said, in awe. Then he finally turned to Sadie, "Did you maybe, if you want to…maybe, kinda wanna…dance with…with me?" he asked, turning redder by the second.

Sadie smiled and nodded, "Yeah!"

He visibly relaxed and smiled, nodding, "When they play a cool song, I'll come find you." He promised.

"Okay." She said.

Tony narrowed his eyes as he walked towards his friends to say hi. So, Mr. Number One Fan had a crush on his daughter? He'd just have to make sure no hanky panky went on.

He was enjoying the party for the most part, the kids were good at participating in the games and contests and they were eating all the food left out, so no annoying leftovers to worry about.

It helped too that the parents were used to this sort of thing and were great chaperones.

Tony felt pretty awesome as he grabbed the mic and asked the kids how they were doing. They cheered for him and he was happy to start announcing the winners of the costume contest.

Sadie of course won the most beautiful, while Tanner won the most accurate portrayal, and Polly won sassiest. Heather won best girls costume for portraying Medusa and Katie won most adorable for her Raggedy Anne costume. Sean won best boys costume for portraying an inmate. Arthur won the funniest for his Hulk costume, much to Bruce's annoyance, and a boy named Carter won most original for his Tornado Chaser costume.

Tony finally gave them prizes which consisted of Iron Man merchandise or for some, Avenger's merchandise. They were happy with it and he was pleased to finally be able to enjoy the party. He wondered where Pepper was.

He was about to take a drink of some punch when he heard someone behind him.

"Stick em up big fella."

"PEPPER?!"

She grinned wickedly.

She was wearing an Iron Man costume for women. She'd gone all out with the red and gold skimpy short dress, light up chest piece, gold and red boots and a mask with gloved that also glowed.

He stared in disbelief. This was the woman whose idea of Halloween was to sit at home and watch chick flicks during Trick or Treat night.

She came closer to him and smiled, "You know, for being Iron Man, you sure don't know how to take a girl on."

He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I am going to enjoy proving you wrong later." Tony growled low in his throat, his hand on her waist, pulling her forward, "Tell me Miss Potts, why the sudden spontaneity?"

"Let's just say I met a guy who taught me to have fun once in a while." She said, putting her arms around his neck.

"I may have to thank this guy later; does the stiff have a name?" Tony asked, getting closer.

"Hmm…can't recall the name but you might have seen him. Big, tall, tan, wears a suit and pees in it sometimes…"

"You aren't going to let me live that down…"

"To give him a percentage on how brilliant he is, I'd say 12%."

Tony grinned and turned red.

"But, don't worry, he'll be plenty thankful tonight." She whispered seductively in his ear, "As long as he BEHAVES himself."

Tony would have loved to have said screw the party and just taken Pepper upstairs in that moment, but he had some party games and a costume contest to award.

He groaned a little when she broke from him and went to go find Sadie.

Sadie giggled when she saw Pepper, and hugged her. Tony smiled as he watched his girls enjoying the party. He couldn't have been happier.

That Tanner kid finally came up and asked Sadie to dance, who grinned and followed him out. It would have been cute had it not been his daughter dancing with a boy. They danced ballroom style to a slow song and some of the boys worked up the courage to ask the other girls to dance. The parents watched and laughed at how cute it was.

Polly and Arthur were doing some sort of interpretive dance and when he leaned in and tried to kiss her cheek, she shoved him to the ground and chased him off with her bow.

Now that was a girl after his own heart.

He laughed and looked over at Sadie and Tanner, who was leaning in to kiss her cheek.

OKAY! Time to break it up!

"Sadie, dance with me!" Tony said, jumping in and taking her hand.

Tanner looked a little crestfallen and Sadie looked confused. He started spinning her and she giggled.

"Daddy, I'm dancing with Tanner!" she said, laughing.

"No, you're dancing with me." He said.

"Tony…"

He turned and saw Pepper standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot.

Damn. He sighed and let Sadie go find Tanner and continue dancing with him. Pepper shook her head, chuckling and walked off.

Rhodey finally came up, "Nice party, Tony. For once there's no drunken craziness occurring." He commented.

Tony nodded and watched as Tanner finally kissed Sadie's cheek and continued to dance with her. He seethed inside, but he knew Pepper was watching.

"She's growing up beautifully, Tony." He said.

He nodded; he couldn't deny how much she'd grown up.

"How's she doing with the chest piece? She handling it well. She hides it more than you do." He commented.

"Yeah, it can be pretty unattractive and sometimes awkward, but I count my blessings. Less cleavage to show the boys when she's older."

"You're already planning for that? Tony she's eight."

"Be prepared for everything and anything."

"So I'm guessing you've figured out how upset she's going to be not being able to enjoy Prom or Spring Break as a teenager cause she's constantly having to 'cover up'?"

"No low-cut shirts or skimpy beach wear to look forward to when she's older? Hell yes!"

"Seriously, Tony?"

"Hey, I was a teenage boy once, and Mr. Big Shot over there is already making the moves on her, I can only imagine what's going to happen when she's older."

"Tony, the kid is eight."

"But he won't be for long and I know what follows after first base. That crap will simply not do."

Rhodey had to laugh, "Somehow I can see it now; her prom date coming to pick her up. You wearing the suit and making 'adjustments' on it and doing a little target practice going through the whole curfew rules thing."

"I was thinking of answering the door wearing my gauntlets and just be practicing shooting targets at the same time...conveniently located at eye level at the front door where they can walk in be 'accidentally' maimed. But your idea is good too."

Rhodey rolled his eyes, "Why don't you make her a chastity belt and call it an evening." He mumbled.

Tony's eyes grew wide and he stared off into space.

Rhodey gave him a look and groaned, "You're designing the belt in your head right now, aren't you?"

"Hey, I went from chasing girls to raising one overnight, what do you think? I'm nothing if not thorough"

….

_I am putting the costume Sadie wore on Tumblr as well, feel free to check it out!_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sadie hated to admit it, but she was almost Halloween'd out. She'd not only had her Halloween Party, but the school Halloween party, plus another party for a kid at school, and she hadn't even gone Trick or Treat yet.

The school was even putting on a Halloween program with songs and dancing. Every class did a skit or a routine. This year, Sadie's class put on a Tim Burton show. They were singing three songs; "Remains of the Day", "This is Halloween", and the "Oogie Boogie Song". Sadie was just glad she got to be the Corpse Bride. She had to feel bad for Sean, though he probably enjoyed being Edward Scissorhands.

There were a lot of people filling the auditorium. And Sadie looked around for her Dad. Sure enough, he was sitting with Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy near the middle. Tony was trying to help Pepper set up the camera. Clint caught Sadie's eyes and winked at her.

Polly came over dressed as Sally from "Nightmare Before Christmas"

"I can't believe they made Arthur Jack Skellington." She groaned.

Sadie giggled, "Tanner's the dancing skeleton from my movie. I think Mrs. Wile is giving us all boyfriends."

They looked over and saw Carter dressed as Beetlejuice talking to Brianna dressed as Number 9 from "9".

"Katie and Heather are so lucky; they get to be Alice and the White Queen." Polly said, "I'm always the red head."

"You are a red head." Sadie laughed.

Polly shrugged, "It's called buying a wig!"

Devin was walking with Carl and Veronica towards them.

Devin was Oogie Boogie and he was smiling at Polly, "You ready to get scared during my solo?" he asked. Polly rolled her eyes.

Carl was adjusting the rather large Mad Hatter hat while Veronica was making sure her Willy Wonka costume was in check.

"I'm ready to get this over with." Carter said, "This makeup is killing me!"

They were after the second graders. The fifth graders always got the good finale, while the first graders always started the show with something cute and simple. This year they did a rendition of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". The kid playing Snoopy actually fell off the dog house while pretending to shoot and it gave everyone quite a laugh.

The second graders did the "Monster Mash" and nearly five of them had no clue what they were doing.

When it was Sadie's class's turn, she began to get butterflies. She came out and waved to her dad. She hoped she remembered her line. She only had one. The rest was singing and then doing a dance with Tanner who was singing Remains of the Day to her.

They got through "This is Halloween" without a hitch. Polly looked ready to punch Devin who was singing the "Oogie Boogie" song to her and poking her the whole time. By the end of the song, Devin got to save the day singing "What's this? Let my maiden go!"

Polly rolled her eyes and finally got her wish and shoved Devin off the stage. He milked it and pretended it was part of the show. Polly grabbed Arthurs hand and dragged him back to the chorus. Arthur was looking concerned and decided to go stand away from her for a while.

It was finally Sadie and Tanner's turn to sing "Remains of the Day". They did the performance perfectly and ended with Sadie pretending to pull a gummy worm from her eye, "Maggots! Hehehehe."

She could see her dad giving her a standing ovation and knocking the camera over in the process. She laughed and bowed with her class, finally glad it was over.

She watched backstage with the others as the fourth graders did the Thriller and the fifth graders ended with an a capella of Disney Villain songs.

All in all, the show was a hit and raised money for the school to continue with the music and art classes. Sadie found her dad after the show and jumped into his arms.

"I found the star of the show!" he said, happily.

"I am not, I had one line and I didn't even sing!" she giggled.

He shrugged, "Your dancing was superb and that line was executed brilliantly."

She laughed and hugged him.

"Hey, you're my number one fan, I'll be yours." He said.

…..

Last time till next year and Sadie was finally relieved that Halloween was a blast, but was also glad it was almost over. She'd gone to countless slumber parties where a scary movie was watched. At Polly's, her brother and his friends ended up scaring them, getting him grounded and causing Polly to rip up his favorite comic, which also got her grounded.

But tonight was Trick or Treat night and Sadie was torn between going with Polly or going with Tanner. So Pepper made it easy on her and told her that Tony would go with her.

"I get candy, okay?" he told her as he walked out with her.

She grinned, "I'll give you 12% of it."

He rolled his eyes. It wasn't long before they caught up with Polly and her family halfway through and Tanner and Sean noticed them and joined up as well.

Tony was really starting to wish he'd made that chastity belt like Rhodey suggested. The prototype might squeeze her innards, but hey, he'd rather it do its job and malfunction where it mattered.

He had to shake his head to get the thought out of his head of an older Sadie when his phone rang. He answered it.

He was shocked to find out he was wanted to speak in Libya regarding the recent terrorism. They were hoping he could help with not only cleaner energy, but also with better defense weapons for the American Embassy. He was a little thrown off since weapons weren't really on his agenda lately, but he had been moved by the recent events overseas and he didn't want to say no.

They assured him he'd be safe and that although the terrorism falsely represented the country, the people of Libya were ashamed of what had happened and would welcome him if he came.

He finally agreed to come. They planned for a time in mid-November and said he was more than welcome to bring anyone who could benefit and family as well would be kept safe.

Sadie noticed the change in her dad as they headed home.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

"I have to go to Libya sweetie." He said.

"Why?"

"They need my help with defense over there." He explained.

"Daddy, you won't get captured will you?" she asked sadly.

"Nah, not this time. Nobody has the balls to try that again." He laughed.

"Can I come?" she asked.

"No, hun."

"Please. I want to keep you safe!"

He laughed, "I thought that was my job?"

"Well, then you have to keep me safe and where you are, I'll be safe."

He had to laugh at her logic.

"Can I go, please?"

"Double no, kiddo."

"But I want to help."

"You can help me prep."

"I want to see Libya too."

"Why?"

She looked down, "Ali."

"What?"

"Daddy worked with a professor from Libya. I want to visit him."

"Do you even know the guy?"

"He taught me physics when I was sick. He'd come over all the time and secretly teach me."

Tony was taken aback.

"He told me he lives in Tripoli and teaches there. I want to go and see him."

He sighed. It obviously meant a lot to her. He'd have to talk it over with Pepper first.

As if she knew what he was thinking she groaned, "You're telling Mom, aren't you?"

He had to get used to hearing Sadie call Pepper 'mom', but it got easier every day.

He nodded and Sadie sighed, "Why do I bother?"

…

"No, no. Absolutely NOT!" Pepper said. Tony had finally told Pepper that Sadie wanted to come with him to Libya.

He'd told her everything about why he was going and she was all for it, but as soon as he said the word 'Sadie' she flipped a lid.

"Pepper, she said there's a friend over there she wants to talk to, how can I say no to that?"

"Tony do you realize what's going on overseas right now? The devastation?"

"Pepper, it's just a stupid terrorist group, the people aren't like that."

"I know that but there are still terrorists there."

"Pep, she'll be with me, she'll be safe."

"Yeah, because last time you went over there you-"

He looked at her and she took a breath, "I just can't lose either of you. I can't."

He got up and put his hands on her shoulders, "You won't. We'll only be there for two days, three tops. I'll make sure she's always with me and I have the suit."

She shook her head and tears came to her eyes.

"Pepper, come on. It won't be like last time." He promised.

She finally sighed and nodded, "Okay. But promise me you will both call every single day and stay SAFE!"

He smiled, "Will that be all Miss Potts?"

She grinned, "Thank you Mr. Stark, yes."

…..

Sadie was sitting on the desk, her shirt off. Her dad was finishing something.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked.

"It's a tracking device. It will stay active in your chest piece. I'm putting one in mine as well. SHIELD will be able to keep tabs on us."

He finally finished it and gently twisted her chest piece. She breathed a little heavily but he was able to install the device quickly and get it uploaded. He put her chest piece back in and she breathed easier as she put her shirt back on.

He did the same with his and finally looked at her.

"Daddy…nothing's gonna happen, right?" she asked.

He smiled, "Not this time." He hoped.

…..


	14. Chapter 14

Oh my goodness you guys I have two more chapters done so you are in for a treat! I just couldn't stop writing it seems and am so excited for the next two chapters. I warn you though, the plot in this one is thickening and some really upsetting things will happen, but please review and comment! Enjoy!

…..

Sadie looked out the window of the jet. Her dad was busy looking through his notes, making sure everything was ready for his defense presentation. He was very quiet but Sadie understood why. She knew how hard this was for him. She was just glad that she was with him so he wouldn't be alone.

She heard Jarvis tell her dad that they were landing soon, so she put on her seat belt and thought of Ali. She'd missed him so much; he was such a wonderful teacher who wasn't afraid to tell her to be who she wanted to be regardless of her illness. She was devastated to find out he'd gone back to teach at Tripoli University. She hoped he remembered her.

When they finally landed, Tony turned her seat towards his and she knew what was coming.

"Rules." He demanded and she sighed. He'd already told her for three weeks what the rules were and he expected her to repeat them every single time.

"No running off, stay within your sight, be aware, listen to you or the American Embassy or the US Army, don't leave anywhere without you, call Mom every day and night, and don't talk to strangers."

He nodded and smiled, "You can also have fun, but I'm more concerned with safety right now."

"Dad, we'll be fine!" she laughed, "You're Iron Man!"

He had to feel a little sure of himself with that statement.

He took her hand and as Sadie walked outside, she was nearly blinded by the sun. Luckily her dad remembered sunglasses for both of them. He handed her the new pink ones Pepper had bought.

Her dad shook hands with some military personnel as well as American Embassy leaders while she looked around at the desert. She knew they were at a military base, but she hoped to see Tripoli real soon. The desert was gorgeous but very foreboding.

They got into a car and sped off to the American Embassy located in Tripoli. They would be staying at a resort located in the perimeter and Tony was happy that Sadie would be more confined and within his sight.

He was a little edgy as they drove. He quickly texted Pepper that they had made it and that he would call her as soon as they reached the resort.

Sadie stared in awe out the window. It looked like something out of "Aladdin".

When Tripoli came into sight, Sadie gasped. It was gorgeous!

She was able to see people walking about and how amazing the city looked. It was so different from New York, but still so busy.

They reached the resort and were greeted by the manager who helped them get to their room. Sadie looked at the view outside the window and gasped. It was absolutely stunning.

"Dad, this place is so cool!" she smiled.

"Yeah? Well, it's no Stark Tower." He commented, "Better get dressed fast, Sade's we have a dinner meeting."

Sadie nodded and both ended up rushing to meet the leaders for dinner at the resorts dining service.

Sadie found it extremely boring, lots of older men who were interested in Tony's work. Sure, she liked what her father did, but she would much rather be exploring the city.

It grew dark and Sadie was glad to finally leave. Her dad had a meeting tomorrow afternoon that would go on for hours and Sadie was glad she brought stuff to do.

At the resort, they both Skyped Pepper and played cards on the bed.

"I got a hold of Professor Ja'aved." Tony said as he prepared to win the third round.

Sadie looked up, "Did he remember me?"

He nodded, "Yep, he's meeting us for breakfast here, after that, we have my meeting, and then we'll eat and head home."

"So soon?" she asked.

He nodded, "It won't take long to convince them my stuff is worth it to have." He smiled.

She had to agree with that. Her dad was probably the best negotiator in the world, and he was twice as shrewd.

She yawned and he took that as the signal to head to bed.

He cuddled with her in bed, his mind racing about tomorrow. He didn't understand why he was so on edge, but maybe it had something to do with what Fury had told him.

He couldn't get the thought of some terrorist group wanting Sadie. But a big part of him just couldn't and wouldn't live in fear. Where he was, he knew she was safe. He had to count on that logic and just make it through the trip.

He sighed and finally slept, holding Sadie close, the sound of their chest pieces humming relaxing him.

…..

They walked into the dining area and Sadie saw him right away.

"ALI!" she cried, happily.

The middle aged man turned around and smiled, hugging her, "Sadie! You grow up so beautiful, my girl!" he said in an Arabic accent.

Tony shook his hand and he frowned, "I heard of Tim and Anna's death. I am so sorry. He was a very good friend."

Tony nodded, but smiled, "Thanks, Sadie couldn't stop talking about you."

"Sadie and I shared many a day together learning physics and science." He smiled, sitting down with them.

"Ali first taught me about Einstein. And after that, he let me borrow his notes and he would teach me in English and in Arabic." Sadie said.

"You speak Arabic?" Tony asked her.

She nodded and said, "Hello my dear friend, I have missed you." To Ali in Arabic and he smiled and answered her in Arabic as well, "I have missed you too my dear one."

Tony was floored, "Are you fluent?"

She shrugged, "I only know a little."

Ali smiled, "I unfortunately had to come back to my country to teach before I could really teach her more, but from what I hear, you do that plenty with her and she's bright as can be."

Sadie nodded, "I'm submitting a paper I'm researching for school into Dad's Young Scientist Awards."

"You send me and I read with joy!" he smiled.

They got to talking then about Stark Industries, Sadie's recovery, and what she'd been up to since. Ali was laughing as she told him about school and her dad's new friends.

Tony liked the guy. He reminded him briefly of Jinsen. He would have enjoyed seeing the University and seeing Tripoli, but he was here for a reason.

"I hate to break up the party, but it's time for the meeting, hun." He said.

"Dad, can't Ali take me around Tripoli?" she begged.

"No. Sorry, but I'm kind of not letting her out of my sight." Tony apologized.

He held up a hand, "I understand, she is your daughter and you must protect her. Sadie, you listen to your father. Show those boring men in the meeting you mean business. Keep working hard."

"I will."

He smiled and they parted ways after they'd hugged one another.

"Perhaps you and your father will visit University later." He offered.

Tony sighed and nearly said no, but Sadie's eyes reflected how badly she wanted to go. He relented and agreed to it. It had to be more fun than what they were both about to endure in the meeting.

…

They drove to the university and Sadie was ready to walk. They'd both sat for nearly five hours and she was feeling antsy. She was just glad the day could end seeing the sights with her dad and seeing Ali one more time.

They were able to catch the end of his lecture and he was thrilled to show them around and buy them real Libyan food at the market.

Tony called the resort and ordered them to get their luggage and meet them at the university to take back to base. He figured it would be quicker to just go from here. Sadie was looking bushed.

He and Ali shook hands and he promised to have Ali come speak at a couple of universities and visit Stark Industries in the future.

As the car pulled up, Sadie was sad but relieved to finally head home. She was glad to have seen her dear old friend again and got to share it with her dad.

He waved to them on the sidewalk as the car disappeared and Sadie decided to take a small nap next to her dad.

He chuckled as she fell asleep. He finally called Pepper and told her that they were heading home.

He hung up and thought about shutting his eyes too until he heard a strange popping sound.

He looked up and heard a crack. The driver yelled and slammed the brakes as more pops erupted that shattered the windows.

Tony looked up and suddenly saw blood as another pop emitted.

Someone was shooting at them. Sadie woke up and sat up, but Tony held her down, "Sadie, stay down!" he ordered. He got lower into the seat and opened the door. He crawled to the ground and crouched low.

"Sadie, come on!" He yelled as Sadie crawled into his arms.

He had to get to his suit in the trunk.

Shots kept firing and he knew he'd have to deploy it from his phone. He quickly grabbed Sadie and ran with her behind a boulder.

He heard an explosion and shielded Sadie from the debris. He started his phone and looked up as men with guns approached them. He clutched Sadie, trying to shield her.

He almost yelled for his suit to deploy but was hit in the head with the butt of a rifle. He saw stars and his vision and hearing became hazy. He looked over, his every thought on Sadie.

He saw the men pick her and saw her struggling and screaming.

"Sadie!" he groaned, trying to get to her, "Put her down!"

He saw them put a bag over her head and then felt the blow to his head once more and it was lights out.

…..


	15. Chapter 15

Tony woke up feeling as though he were on a boat. He groaned and his head hurt. He wondered how drunk he'd gotten to feel this hung over. He swayed and could swear he heard gravel.

Then it hit him; the guns, the explosions, the men…Sadie!

He tried to touch his head and realized his hands were bound in front of him. He felt his face and realized his eyes had been taped shut with duct tape. No way was he tearing that off with this headache.

He heard a muffled sob.

"Sadie?" he groaned, "Sadie, where are you?"

"Daddy?" she sobbed.

"I'm right here, follow my voice." He instructed. He could hear her crawling towards him and kept telling her to follow his voice when he finally felt her hand on his arm. She crawled closer and he felt her hands were also bound. He reached up and found her face. Her eyes were also taped shut. He gathered her close and put his arms around her.

"It's okay." He breathed his chin on her head.

"What's going on?" she cried.

He wished he knew.

The vehicle stopped and he heard car doors slam and some men speaking sharply in Arabic.

"Daddy…" Sadie whined.

"It's okay." He told her, clutching her close.

They heard a door open and some people came in.

He felt them rip Sadie from his arms.

She cried out nervously and he heard a loud slapping sound and realized these bastards smacking his baby. Oh hell no!

"Get your damn hands off her!" he yelled as he was pulled up. He was punched in the face and realized that route didn't bode well for either of them.

They were dragged quite a ways until the group finally stopped and started yelling again at them.

He felt the tape ripped from his eyes and he grunted, blinking.

He looked over and heard Sadie scream as they took the tape off of her as well.

Just then they started ripping their clothes off of them.

Sadie screamed and struggled, panicking. The group converged on her and mercilessly stripped her.

"Get off of her!" Tony yelled, but they continued to rip at their clothes. He saw them looking at the ripped garments and shaking them.

He and Sadie were in their underwear as they were shoved into some small room. Sadie ran to him and he clutched her close, not sure what the hell was going on.

He felt an icy cold blast of water on his back and turned as two men carrying hoses sprayed him and Sadie on full blast. He coughed and tried shielding Sadie, but the man on the other side of him was still managing to spray her, causing red to appear on the skin. She coughed and screamed, clinging to her dad.

It finally stopped and they were dragged out of the room and thrown into another room.

One man came in carrying a gun and untied them. He spoke to them in harsh Arabic and pointed to the cot in the room. Tony looked over and saw clothes.

The man left and Tony grabbed Sadie to his chest, picking her up and rubbing her back. She was dripping wet and shivering. He walked to the bed and quickly wrapped her in a blanket. He dried himself off and put on a pair of jeans, socks, boots, an undershirt, a t-shirt, and a sweater.

He finished drying Sadie and finally put her in a pair of pants, socks, shoes, a white slip, a t-shirt, and a jacket. He found a couple of caps and put one on her. She still shivered so he rubbed her arms.

He finally sat down with her on the cot, rocking her. He looked around the small lighted room. The lights were so dark he had trouble adjusting, but what he did see was a very small stove, a table, extra blankets on a chair, a couple of cameras, a bucket, and a tub. Home sweet home.

"Don't worry Sadie, I put tracking devices in our chest pieces, remember?" he told her.

She didn't say anything.

"They'll find us." He promised.

"Daddy…"

"Hmmm?" he said, resting his chin on her head.

"I'm starting to think we shouldn't have come."

…

Tony waited and realized no one was bringing them food or telling them what was going on. The lights shut off and he had a feeling that was a signal telling them to rest.

He sighed and laid his sleeping daughter on the cot and cuddled next to her, holding her close to keep her warm. He was almost afraid to sleep but at some point exhaustion kicked in and he finally slept.

It wasn't long until the lights came back on and Sadie shot up, crying.

"Shh…I'm here." He grumbled, rubbing her chest to get her to lie back down.

"I want Mom." She sobbed.

"Me too." He sighed. God, Pepper. She must be worried out of her mind. He sighed and thought about the wrath he'd receive from her when he returned home with Sadie.

He rubbed his eyes and finally sat up. He suddenly heard voices and the door unlocking.

He stood up and looked at Sadie.

"Sadie…" he said, closing his eyes as the same old drill came back to haunt him, "I need you to stand up and do as I do, okay?"

She stood up and watched as her dad put his hands behind his head. She followed his lead and he nodded, "Good girl. Just stay quiet and do what they say." He instructed and watched as men with guns came in and pulled Sadie away from him. She whimpered.

"Sadie, just do what they say, I won't let them hurt you!" he told her.

They made her stand away from her dad and she nodded her hands still behind her head.

The leader walked in wearing some kind of black hoodie. He pulled the hood down and Tony was surprised to see dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He smiled at them, "Please, make yourselves comfortable." He said in an English Accent.

Tony and Sadie put their hands down and he kept smiling, "I do apologize for earlier; we had to be sure there were no bugs or tracking devices on your person."

Sadie and Tony exchanged a quick look.

The man raised his eyebrows, "And in case you were wondering about the tracking device hidden inside of your chest pieces, we've broken the signal already. It was rather difficult, but I did hire a genius." He laughed.

Tony's stomach sank.

"So, with that, I do believe I have your undivided attention." He smiled.

"What do you want?" Tony asked.

"Oh, now it's not merely a matter of wants really-" he started.

"All terrorists have wants." Tony spat.

"No you're absolutely right, but you see, I'm a visionary, and unlike terrorists, I have goals to be pursued, needs to be met, demands to carry out. So it's really entirely different." He shrugged.

"Fine Cracker Jack, then what do you NEED?" Tony growled, "Slippers? Pipe? Cause you're boring me to death."

The man chuckled, "Oh Tony…you know…you really haven't changed a bit."

Tony stared at him.

He raised his eyebrows, "Aw, I figured you'd never remember me. You were always above everyone in your class. Always wooing the next girl, bringing the latest innovation from that brilliant mind of yours…"

Tony couldn't stop staring at him.

"Nothing?" the man asked. Then sighed, "I suppose I should have seen that coming. After all, you were so busy advancing robotics and I was merely a year under you, always second best you could say."

Tony's eyes widened. It couldn't be, "Harrow?!"

The man smiled, "MIT. You do remember." He laughed, then smiled at Sadie, "Your father and I go way back, my dear.

"Son of a bitch, Kurt Harrow…" Tony mumbled. This big shot was always trying to out beat him in college, though he never succeeded. In the end it made him pretty bitter. Tony supposed this was probably an inevitable act of revenge just waiting to happen. But he didn't want Sadie to be a part of it.

"So what, revenge of the nerds? Cause I gotta tell you, that's pretty lame, buddy."

Kurt laughed, shaking his head, "Hardly, I've given up on revenge. To me revenge is so…vulgar. No, you see what I chose to pursue was not really fame and I'd given up trying to create what couldn't best you. So instead I tried a new approach."

"What would that be?" Tony asked.

"Acquaintances." He smiled.

Tony groaned, "Ten Rings."

"Yes, I did hear you had a lovely run in a couple of years ago." Kurt laughed.

Tony glared at him, "So what? Here to finish what they started and didn't succeed in? Cause we all know how that ends."

"Oh Tony, you really haven't changed. You still haven't figured out that it's just not all about you."

Tony cocked his head a little, confused, "Well if it's not me, why'd you drag me and my daughter here? Don't tell me it was to invite us for tea and crumpets or whatever it is you guys eat over there."

He smiled, "I'm not interested in your doings anymore, haven't been for years. That's for a man higher up than I am. No…my focus and my life's work…is Sadie."

Sadie gaped at him, "Me?"

"I guess you could call him my superior. He knew my utter hatred and repulsion of you was too strong to ever take you on Tony, so he gave me a task that would help me focus and gain new insight and inevitably…change the world."

"You think Sadie is going to do that?" Tony asked.

He smiled, "I know she can."

"You leave her out of this." Tony ordered.

"I don't want to have anything to do with you!" Sadie yelled.

He laughed, snapping his fingers. A man put a bunch of papers in his hands.

He handed it to Sadie. She stared in horror at it, "My paper…" she said weakly.

"You truly are the brightest child of your age." Kurt gushed, "I'm willing to offer you both an opportunity to help us in our cause."

"No good can come of this paper!" Sadie yelled, "It can hurt a lot of people!"

"Some things must be sacrificed." Kurt admitted.

"Yeah, look. We had a run in with some demigod months ago who tried this same bull crap and that didn't end to well for him, so let's just end the charade right now." Tony said.

"Oh Sadie, do you not see the potential for your life's work to become reality?"

She shook her head, "I'm not doing it!"

"You are the only one who can…and who will." He said.

"I said no!" she screamed and threw the papers away from her.

He sighed and nodded to the man behind her. He grabbed her and took her sweater off and pinned her arms behind her and held her in place. She struggled and panted, kicking her legs.

Tony tried running to her and was held back.

Kurt grabbed something from another man. Tony's eyes widened. It was a cattle prod.

"No! Stop!" he yelled, "Leave her alone, Kurt this is between us, you leave her out of it!"

"I brought you both here because both of you have weaknesses…each other." Kurt said, coming closer. Sadie panted and cried, trying to break free as another man grabbed her arm and stretched it out.

"If one of you should not succeed, the other will finish. It can only be a Stark." He continued.

He stopped right in front of Sadie.

"Please!" she begged, "You can't do it!"

"If I can't convince you, I can convince your father, and I can guarantee, he'll convince you. So what's it to be Sadie?"

She shook her head, "NO!"

"Stop! Stop!" Tony yelled, "She can't do it!"

Sadie screamed as the cattle prod stung her harshly, leaving a nasty mark on her arm.

"Okay, okay! We'll do it!" Tony yelled, "Just…let her go! I'll help her do it!"

Kurt threw the cattle prod to one of his goons and smiled, "Now that's the team spirit I like to hear. Best put some water on that sweet." He instructed as the man let Sadie fall to the ground, crying and clutching her arm.

Tony was finally released and everyone filed out. He ran to Sadie and held her, rocking her.

He stared angrily at the door, wishing to God he was suited up so he could kill all those miserable ass holes.

Sadie finally calmed down.

"Let me see." He asked and she held her arm out gingerly. He winced. He took her to the bucket with water in it and helped her clean it up.

She cringed and whimpered as the water stung her arm. By the time he had it bandaged, she stared forlornly at him.

He looked sadly at her, "Not our week, huh?"

That was an understatement.

…..

Note: The villain, Kurt Harrow, is an OC I created who is just working with the Ten Rings, under Mandarin. His primary interest is in Sadie and because of that I decided to create a villain instead of borrow one that would mess with any comic book fanatics out there.

I imagine his portrayal to be Jude Law!


	16. Sorry, this is a message!

I apologize everyone, this is not a chapter, it is a message because an anon guest is starting to bother me. I would private message them, but they are an anon and do not have an account so I am sorry but this has to be public.

To the Guest who keeps asking for more pepperony, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop wasting my time writing reviews that have nothing to do with Sadie or Tony. If you want pepperony, read another amazing story on fanfic, because there are so many talented writers on this site who write amazing pepperony. But my story is about my OC Sadie and Tony. So I would appreciate it if you would either not review when you read my story (unless it pertains to Sadie and the story) or go read something else. Or better yet, get an account and start writing your own pepperony, I would fully support it!

I'm not trying to be rude, but it is something I just want to make clear for all to see.

To everyone else who is reviewing my story: Thank you, I appreciate your love of Sadie and my writing.

And I thank you for all of your support. My next chapter is coming soon and I will definitely keep in mind some of your comments.

All my love,

geminisonic


	17. Chapter 17

After they'd eaten what Tony was comparing to prison food (though he had to admit prisons served way better food that what they'd just eaten), they both sat by the fire, looking morbid.

Sadie finally spoke up, "Daddy, I can't do it."

"We don't have much of a choice."

"They're forcing us to make a bomb. A bomb that I designed! A bomb that could kill a lot of people! I never wanted that!" she cried, "I was just trying to find a way to make cleaner energy using anti-electron collisions and instead created a monster!"

He sighed, "Welcome to the Stark family."

She shook her head, "I don't want to do this. I never should have written the paper. This is all my fault!"

"Sade's you didn't know anything like this would happen. None of this is your fault. If anything it's my fault. I never should have pushed you to publish it."

She put her head in her hands and Tony put a hand on her shoulder.

"Was it this scary when you were alone?" she asked him.

He nodded, "Terrifying."

"Daddy, what they're making us do…"

"Sadie I've read your notes and unfortunately it is doable but only by us. The good news is, while making a sham out of that, it'll buy us some time."

"What if they find out we're making a fake bomb?" she cried, "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I don't want you to worry, okay. I won't let anything bad happen to either of us. We're getting out of here." He said.

"How? You don't have your suit. They're going to make us work in a guarded area all day, cause they know you'll just build another suit."

"Who said anything about a suit?"

She looked up curiously.

"Sadie, what did you learn at Technology Camp?" he asked.

She thought for a minute, "We learned about solar power, the latest technology and computer programs, how to make a cell phone…" her eyes widened.

He smiled, "Now that is the Sadie I know."

…

They'd made the list of materials they'd needed and Tony offered to help her find a way to condense the bomb they were having her make. It made it easier to stick close to her and help her in their new plan. They didn't need an escape, they just needed a signal. If they could tap into SHIELD and let them track their location without getting caught, they might have a shot. Tony needed a way to bypass the computer nerd Harrow had hired. He wondered who it was. He'd shoot himself if it was Bill Gates.

They were given the latest technology and supplies in a small room with a giant table and everything they would need, including good lighting.

They both sat down and began to collaborate. Sadie looked through her paper and found where they could alter the actual effects of the bomb without it being noticed by an untrained eye. But even Tony couldn't believe how he couldn't really see it as well.

She nodded and they both got to work quickly. He did a lot of heavy lifting at first and sacrificed his chip from his chest piece to help her with her phone. She would find small things that would help her make the phone and would hide them on her person where no one could see. At night, he lay next to her and blocked her from the camera and their chest pieces would give them the light they needed for her to work on her phone. It was a grueling three days and Sadie was exhausted, but she kept working.

They hadn't seen Harrow in a while but Tony wouldn't put it past him to be watching them closely. They had to play it careful and safe.

The exhaustion was getting to Sadie however, and he knew she was hardly eating she was so tired. He felt terrible and tried to let her rest but the men guarding them as they worked would come in and threaten them to keep going. In other words, no mercy, no rest.

But it got to the point where Sadie just couldn't stand any longer and by day number five, she collapsed.

Tony was yelling for water or something, anything when a couple of the guards came in and just took her away, leaving Tony alone in the work room, wondering and worrying where they were taking her.

He was yelling at the top of his lungs when Harrow finally came in.

"What did you do with Sadie?" Tony yelled.

"Relax, she's being looked over and cared for." Harrow said, examining their progress on the table.

Tony watched him, crossing his arms.

"I've never seen you care for anyone else really." Harrow commented, "It's almost touching." He laughed.

They were silent for a moment until Tony finally spoke, "I assume you're the one who killed my brother and his wife."

Harrow laughed and shrugged, "I was behind it. Nothing personal, I hope you understand. It's just business."

"You made a business of killing my brother, Sadie's parents?"

"As I said, sacrifices need to be made for the greater good."

"There is nothing good about any of this. You're all pathetic."

"If I were you, I would just get back to work. You do have a daughter to think about, after all."

Tony ignored him and sat down, "I'm not doing a damn thing until she's back here where I can see her."

"We'll take care of her. I can assure you she's in good hands." Harrow laughed. Sadie sure was in for a surprise when she woke up.

"I swear…if you so much as lay a finger on her-"

"Stark, try to remember who's in charge here." Harrow interrupted, "Just admit it, without your suit; you are nothing more than a man. And every man has weaknesses. You're just upset that I found yours and am using it to my advantage."

"Be careful, the last person who tried to tell me I was just a man found out the hard way that I'm more than meets the eye."

"Really? Do tell, what can you possibly be underneath all that armor?"

Tony smirked, "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, father."

Harrow scoffed, "Neither of those words strike fear into my heart."

"The last one should."

"Really? Do tell. How on earth is a father frightening?" Harrow laughed.

"Because a father will do anything to protect his baby. Meaning if you do anything to harm my daughter in any way…I will come up with the most painful method of killing you slowly."

"Oooh. I'm quivering…not" Harrow laughed, rolling his eyes.

Tony smiled, "You will soon enough."

…

Sadie groaned, waking up. She had trouble breathing and opened her eyes. She was on an examination table and had an IV in her arm. She looked up at the light and noticed someone with a surgical mask examining her chest piece. No wonder she was having trouble.

She gasped, "Put it back in!" she cried.

The man holding it looked a little shocked but did as she asked.

She shot up and he held her down, speaking in Arabic.

"Where's my Daddy?!" she whimpered, looking around the cold room, shivering.

"Sadie, you must relax." The man told her and Sadie looked horrified.

She knew that voice. It couldn't be…

The man removed his mask and smiled at her.

"Ali?!" she cried, shaking her head, "NO!"

"I am sorry Sadie, but I've been friends with Harrow longer than I've been friends with your family." He said.

She stared at him, "How? Why?"

He sighed, "There was a reason I became friends with your father, I actually had no intention of meeting you and when I discovered your talents…well, the plan took on a completely different approach."

Tears came to her eyes, "You killed my parents…that's why you left…"

He nodded, "I did. Unfortunately the plan backfired when you'd been lost in the system before we could get to you."

"You betrayed my dad!" she yelled.

"I am sorry, but it was for the best. He was keeping you from your full potential."

She stared in horror at the man whom she had trusted and come to love, unable to believe it.

"I must say, though, Tony Stark, your real father, has been a benefit to us when it comes to you." He admitted.

She shook her head angrily, glaring at him, feeling a sense of loss and anger course through her.

"I was just admiring the device that saved your life. What an accomplishment." He said.

She ignored him and started ripping the IV out of her arm.

"Sadie, leave it in, you must rest now."

"Don't you EVER speak to me again! Get the hell away from me!" she cried, shoving his arm away from her body.

He sighed, "I know you are angry, but I can assure you I meant no harm to you, ever. I would have cared for you."

She glared at him, "You lied to me. Everything was a lie! You hurt me the minute you killed my parents. I want nothing to do with you. Take me back to my daddy NOW!" she yelled.

He backed away and she finally jumped from the table and grabbed the white sleeveless dress lying on a chair. She had no clue where her other clothes were, but she could care less. She couldn't stand to be around this traitor any longer. She tried pulling the door but it wouldn't open. She cried, banging on it, yelling for her dad. Ali stood there and watched her sadly.

He knew she would feel this way once he told her the truth, but she would come to understand he did it for good reasons and that he would never wish harm upon her ever.

After a while, she finally just sank to her knees in front of the door, crying silently.

She was so distraught, she didn't even notice him come up behind her end inject her with something that eventually knocked her out.

"I'm sorry my dear Sadie." Ali whispered in Arabic as she fell to the floor.

….

Pepper paced the entire house, not sure what to do. She thought about that day. The day that she would never forget. Natasha knocking on the door to tell her the bad news. Sinking to the floor in shock. Feeling as though her life were about to end.

Bruce had come by earlier to assure her that SHIELD was on it and he would be leaving with them to help find Tony and Sadie. Natasha and Clint promised her that they would not stop until they were found.

But since that day, she had received absolutely no calls, nothing. And she was devastated.

She finally sat down and looked at her scrapbook she had paused in when she'd gotten the bad news. She was finishing the page where Tony, Pepper, and Sadie got to go to the zoo. Sadie had gotten to see animals she had never even seen before. She smiled as she picked up the picture of Tony and Sadie in front of an elephant butt. Sure the butt was a photo bomb, but the look on Tony's face was that of pure happiness and Sadie was so loved because of it.

Pepper stared at the clock. The days were starting to run together and she hadn't eaten or slept.

She picked up a picture of her and Sadie looking at the manatees and sobbed. She had a feeling she wouldn't stop crying until the love of her life and her baby were back in her arms.

…..

Tony was taken back to his room and was relieved to find Sadie there. She was lying on the cot, fast asleep. He looked her over for any injuries and was relieved to find none. She was only wearing a white slip and covered her up before she froze to death.

She wasn't responding but he could see where they'd injected her so he knew they'd only drugged her.

He sat down and rubbed his eyes. He knew she was very close to finishing the phone.

After a while of sitting and staring off into space, he felt Sadie move and heard her groaning. She was going to have quite a headache.

She finally sat up and saw her dad. She suddenly burst into tears and hugged him.

He held her and felt a sense of foreboding. The strain was getting to Sadie. He was afraid of her cracking under the stress and possibly getting hurt. He hated to do it, but he had to get her to finish her phone. He'd brought back as much stuff as he could and waited until she'd calmed down.

The lights went off and he lay down with her.

"Sadie…" he whispered, pulling the stuff out, "I know you're feeling like crap right now, but we really need to finish this."

She nodded and took the stuff from him and immediately got to work. He kissed her head and helped her out.

He could hear her sniffling now and then, but she kept working hard. He stayed awake with her all night and she seemed to be in her element when she stopped everything and turned around to face him.

"Daddy…are you awake?" She whispered.

"Mhm." He mumbled quietly.

"I finished it."

He opened his eyes and smiled, "That's my girl!" he whispered.

"We need a computer, you have to bypass the computer nerd." She whispered. He would have laughed at her choice of words had their situation not been so sucky.

"I have the coordinates for SHIELD." She continued, "Once you crack the code, we'll be able to send a very fast signal before we get caught."

"What do mean we'll get caught?" He asked.

"I won't have time to shut the signal down before they find it." She admitted, "It will keep working but won't shut down until it's discovered. I don't have the technology or cover to make it a secret. Plus the computer nerd he hired is good. He was able to shut down the signals in our chests. He will most likely find this."

"Will it work? Is it even worth it?" Tony asked.

"It will work, but it will be real quick. They'll only think they foiled us." She explained.

He nodded, "I'll take the heat for it. You stay quiet and keep safe. I'm not letting them touch you." He said.

"Dad I can't be alone." She whimpered.

"You're gonna have to tough it out. I can handle a few punches and torture, hun, I've done this before." He said.

She cuddled next to him, hoping this wasn't the last time she'd see her dad.

….

They knew the plan and they stuck to it. Tony was ripping tape and putting some pieces underneath the table. Sadie had the phone in her jacket pocket. She wouldn't turn it on until her dad was ready.

He started up the computer and then pretended to knock over a ton of supplies.

That was her cue. She went under the table and went to work quickly taping the phone to the top of the table. She typed in the coordinates and the code and poked her dad's knee. He started it up and she came out pretending to clean.

He finished what was needed and within a minute, he saw the red, meaning that the nerd had found them out.

He knew that any minute they would come in. But he also knew that any moment, SHIELD would show up.

He heard them coming and Sadie came over to him and held his hand tightly.

"It's gonna be okay." He told her, hoping to Thor he was right.

They came in and sure enough, began searching. They pulled Sadie from him and ripped off her jacket, frisking her white slip. They made her remove her pants and shoes, so she did. Tony did the same.

One of them finally found the device under the table as Tony was putting his clothes back on.

Harrow came in with Ali just then. Tony was a little stunned at first, but put two and two together and figured that this was why Sadie had broken down the day before.

"Check out the dog and pony show." Tony scoffed. He got punched in the face and Sadie cringed.

She remembered what her dad had told her. Stay quiet, be brave.

She took a breath and forced herself to look over at Harrow and Ali.

Harrow took the phone and examined it, "Nice try, both of you, but unfortunately, not as good as the man I hired."

Tony rubbed his jaw and shrugged, "Worth a shot to get out of this stink hole."

He got punched again and Sadie jumped, shrinking into herself more and more.

She wanted desperately to kick these guys in the nuts, but her dad's orders were very clear and she wouldn't stray from them. It might just keep them alive.

"So…who was the brains behind this contraption I wonder?" Harrow asked, looking from Tony to Sadie.

Sadie looked down as her dad admitted he did it, "I mean, come on, you are looking at Iron Man. Built a suit in a cave…" he said.

Harrow smiled and finally looked at Sadie, who continued to stare at the ground, hoping no one would notice her.

He laughed, "What to do…I hate to make a statement, but I am on a tight schedule."

They said nothing and Tony was ready for anything. Anything for what was just about to be said.

"Well, I figure that either way, Tony can easily get what needs to be done, done. But he needs the motivation. And all Sadie needs to do is be that motivation. And after that, I have a feeling both of you will buckle down and do what I ask."

Sadie looked up horrified.

Tony's eyes widened, "You leave her out of this. The phone was my idea. She can do the work."

Harrow shook his head, "No…she'll only do it because of what we'll do to her."

Sadie was grabbed and dragged outside with a bag put over her head.

Tony watched in horror and was able to knock a few guys down, but was knocked out pretty quickly. The last image being of Sadie being dragged away to God knows what.

….


	18. Chapter 18

**Warning: Some slight mistreatment of a child, there is no outright torture though.**

Sadie was dragged around by a pair of rough hands. Her feet were bare and she could feel the gravel cutting into her feet. The bag over her head made it stuffy, but it also terrified her. She had no clue where they were taking her or what they were about to do to her.

They stopped in some kind of room and she was thrown to the ground roughly, the bag removed from her head. She could see chains on the wall in front of her and on a table she could have sworn it had torture devices on it.

She shook in terror, unable to move.

Just then she heard Ali speaking sharply in Arabic and everyone stopped. Harrow held up a hand and listened to Ali.

"Don't you see this will make things worse." He whispered, "You really want to get to her, you put her inside of her worst fear." He explained.

"I certainly hope you know what her biggest fear is because if you don't, I plan on letting my men have their way with her." Harrow said.

Ali nodded, "She's terrified of the dark."

Harrow thought for a minute and looked over at Sadie, "The dark..." he pondered.

Sadie got up enough courage to meet his gaze but didn't like what she saw.

He spoke in Arabic to the men surrounding her. One man picked her up and began tying rope sharply around her wrists, binding them in front of her. Another one gagged her mouth tightly with a dirty rag and then she was blindfolded and dragged somewhere else.

After what felt like minutes of walking, she felt the ground change and realized she was outside. The sand on her feet was hot.

They stopped and took off the blindfold. She squinted at the sunlight and Harrow grabbed her face so she could look at him, "Ali is convinced this will teach you a lesson. You got off easy, but don't underestimate my mercy." He warned.

She looked over after he released her and could see a small well. She almost didn't notice it. It only reached her waist and the lever and pulley on it were almost hidden they were so sun damaged.

She saw them putting a hook and fixing the rope on the well. The hook was then placed on her bindings and she suddenly realized what they were about to do.

She whimpered through her gag and shook her head.

She got slapped for it and had no choice but to let them start lowering her into the well. Slowly the light disappeared as she got lower. She looked up and only saw a small circle of light and heard voices above her faintly.

She was lowered so far into the well she could smell water, feel the cold, and the claustrophobia and darkness began to take its toll. She looked up and tried screaming through her gag, trying to break free from the hook and her bonds above her head.

She cried and shivered, looking around. She was afraid to close her eyes. That would make the darkness worse.

After a while, her eyes adjusted and she could suddenly see her chest piece slightly light the darkness.

It still terrified her but she felt closer to her dad this way.

She looked up and groaned. Her arms were starting to ache now. The rope was digging into her wrists painfully. Her mouth was dry and her throat was sore. She still felt claustrophobic and nervous, trying to find her breath, though her gag made it hard on her.

She didn't know how long time would pass while she was down in this pit. Each passing moment was getting scarier than the first.

She tried swinging and finding the wall. For a moment she felt the cold surface of it, but it was so slippery there was no point in straining herself.

She looked up and saw how dark it was getting outside. She knew it would start to get colder. She was only wearing the white slip and had no way to cover up.

She kept her eyes open for as long as she could and found she just couldn't stand the strain of it any longer. The pain on her whole body was beginning to take its toll and she wished she could just escape it.

Just when she was beginning to close her eyes and thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, she heard a rumbling sound and looked up. The sky was getting darker and she could have sworn she saw flashes of lightning.

She was starting to wish they'd just beat her senseless.

…..

Steve looked through the binoculars on the hill top. Natasha and Clint were suiting up and Bruce was helping them into their disguises. They'd seen too many bad outcomes just barging in there. They needed to go undercover. The goal was to get Sadie and Tony out. But they also needed to find the leader or leaders and bring them in. Whatever it was they were doing with Sadie and Tony could not have been good.

"Bad night for a storm." Steve commented, trying to find something, anything that could help them.

Bruce nodded as he finished helping everyone get ready.

"Okay." Steve said, coming over, "We'll go in as a team and separate to go do our tasks. Barton, you're on watch up here."

Clint nodded, but he had to admit, he didn't like the way the sky looked.

"Natasha, you're in charge of finding out who the leader is and capturing them to take back to SHIELD."

Natasha nodded as she put on her turban, covering her face.

"Bruce, when we find Tony and Sadie, you'll help Tony get his suit, then you can get angry."

Bruce smiled, "Just what the other guy needs, a little sport inside of a cave."

"I'll take care of Sadie and get her up here to Hawkeye."

Everyone nodded and suddenly felt the ground shake and saw an enormous lighting storm cross the sky.

Steve could have sworn he felt something crash nearby.

"God, they picked a hell of a day to send a distress signal." Hawkeye commented.

"Seems odd for Libya." Bruce commented.

Steve was about to encourage them that they had friends inside that cave and were going to get them out regardless of a little lightning when he heard footsteps behind him.

He looked around and gaped.

Thor walked up to them.

"How in the hell…?" Clint gasped.

"Why…?" Natasha gasped at the same time.

Thor held his hammer up, "Greetings friends. I heard a distress call from Stark."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Bruce said, "You got the signal Tony sent out?"

Thor nodded.

"You mean to tell me you get service up there?" Clint asked.

"We have very loyal servants, but that is not important. I've come to help a friend." Thor said.

Natasha rolled her eyes.

Steve finally nodded and caught Thor up to speed.

"You mean to tell me that these beasts have Sadie? I shall have no problem killing them all." Thor muttered.

Steve smiled, "I think I'll have you with the Hulk…Banner." He said.

Bruce nodded to Thor and helped him put on their disguises, "Go team." He muttered, "Hope you didn't make the other guy mad any time recently."

"We ready?" Steve asked.

"Been ready, Cap, let's do this." Hawkeye said, getting his bow ready.

…

_Hahaha, does anyone else find it hilarious that Sadie's signal reached Asgard? Just had to bring Thor back in the most comical way!_


	19. Chapter 19

You guys are just so excited that I couldn't resist giving you the next one quicker. I'd actually written this as a whole chapter, but split it up to keep with suspense. But you guys are like me when it comes to reading and writing: You wanna know what f*ing happens! lol. So here ya go, cause I freaking love you all!

...

Tony groaned, waking up. He felt his head and could tell he'd have a nasty bruise again. He opened his eyes and sat up weakly. He was on the cot.

He looked around and suddenly remembered what had happened.

He got up quickly and went to the door, trying to listen.

He panicked and banged on the door, so angry with himself. He let them take her. He let them take her away to hurt her. He'd promised her she wouldn't get hurt and he'd failed her.

He yelled and continued to bang.

He finally stopped and paced, wondering where his baby was and if she was okay. He could only imagine what they were doing to her and he couldn't bear it if she came back to him harmed.

He heard the door open and a few guards came in with guns and closed the door.

"You shit heads had better have my daughter with you!" he yelled.

They all looked at one another and around the room. One walked over towards the camera to look at it.

"Where is she?!" Tony yelled at them.

The one by the camera gave the other two a thumbs up and they removed their wrappings.

Tony stared in disbelief. This had to be a dream!

"Stark!" Steve said, taking his disguise off.

Tony saw Thor and Bruce do the same. He didn't know whether to be shocked or incredibly joyful to see them.

"Where's Sadie?" Steve asked.

The shock left Tony and he grew angry, "I don't know, they took her to do God knows what for sending that signal. But I swear when I find them…"

"I'm on it Stark, right now Natasha needs you to help her locate the leaders and bring them in." Steve said.

"With pleasure." Tony said, "One problem. I'm not exactly Iron Man material at the moment."

Bruce came over to him and handed him a walkie talkie.

"I'll look for Sadie, Tony, I promise I'll find her, you help Natasha, Hulk, and Thor in here. Take out as many as you can." Steve said.

Tony nodded, "When you find her…"

"Tony, she'll be okay. We'll get her out of here. Both of you." Steve promised.

"Okay Tony I just need you to do one thing for me before I get angry." Bruce said, "I need you to yell deploy."

Tony smiled and did just that. Let's get this party started.

….

Sadie opened her eyes with a start and felt a shooting pain in her shoulders from hanging in the dark for so long. She groaned, hoping to God the punishment was over.

Just then she heard the noise that had woken her up in the first place. It was a deep rumbling sound and she could have sworn she heard a roar.

She craned her neck, even though it made her shoulders hurt. The sky was still getting darker and she shivered. She lowered her head again and hoped she would pass out soon. She had an itch on her arm and felt a trickling sensation. She looked up but couldn't tell why she was feeling that sensation. It could be a bug. She moved a little, but it just made her wrists hurt.

She thought about closing her eyes again, when she suddenly heard somebody calling her name.

"Sadie! Sad-!"

She could hear voices grunting and wondered what was going on.

"Sadie!"

She knew it hurt but she tried swinging and making the rope move. She screamed through her gag, hoping somebody heard her.

She used her legs to kick the wall of the well; she tried climbing, but kept slipping. She screamed in pain as she felt her shoulders crick and her wrists burn.

Her throat was sore but she had to keep yelling.

"Sadie?"

The voice was so close.

She screamed and moved and finally heard the voice speaking in the well.

She could hear its echo as it called her name.

She kept moving and screaming.

She finally felt the pull of the rope and she knew she was being tugged up.

She suddenly dropped and screamed.

She heard a pop as the rope stopped abruptly. Her shoulders were numb and she was in so much pain.

"Sadie, hang on!" the voice said and kept pulling her.

She heard a strange snapping sound and looked up.

The rope was starting to fray.

Oh God, please hurry!

She tried not to move as she was tugged up again.

She suddenly felt warmer air and squinted as she reached the top.

She felt a pair of strong arms grab her middle and pull her out.

She groaned, finally able to put her limp arms down. She closed her eyes and was laid gently on the ground. She felt the person remove her bonds carefully and take her gag out.

"Oh God…" the voice said and she could have sworn she'd heard it before, "its okay, Sadie, we're gonna get you out of here now. You're gonna be okay."

She opened her eyes and squinted up at a familiar face she couldn't have been happier to see.

"Steve…" she croaked.

He smiled at her, "I got ya." He said and carried her quickly away from the mountains.

"Daddy…" she gasped in a throaty voice.

"He's okay. In fact, he's Iron Man." Steve laughed. The last time he'd seen Tony he was having a blast terrorizing the men who'd captured them.

"Stark, I got her, she's okay." He said into his talkie.

"Get her out of here fast. It's about to get ugly." Tony said.

"On it."

...

Tony didn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed killing people so much. He was much more focused now knowing Sadie was safe with Steve. He watched as Natasha took out nearly five guys with one martial arts move and he was having a blast being back in the suit.

He could feel the Hulk making just as big an impression on the other side of the cave. He backed up as a few guards came whizzing past him. Thor entered, looking smug, carrying another guard and throwing him in the air and swinging his hammer at them like a baseball game.

"Rogers showed me this game before I left for Asgard last time." he said to Tony, walking by him.

Tony rolled his eyes and decided to let him have a ball. He had some unfinished business with a couple of dicks.

"Romanov, you see them anywhere?" Tony asked.

"Stark, they're not here." she said.

"I didn't see them either." Clint said on the other line, "It's almost like they vanished."

"Or they had a secret tunnel escape." Tony growled. Shoot if this had been his workshop, that's what he would have done, "Damnit. Rogers? Where you at?"

He could hear Steve panting, "I got her, she's holding up. We're close to you Barton, be ready."

"On it. I suggest you guys start getting the hell out while we get phase three ready."

"You seriously had three phases?" Tony asked.

"Phase one, invade." Clint said.

"Phase two, rescue." Natasha continued.

"Phase three?" Tony asked.

"SMASH!" he heard Hulk say on the other line and he winced.

"Actually we're blowing it up, but close enough." Clint said.

...

Steve ran up the hills and Sadie opened her eyes and could see the jet parked nearby.

"How we doing down there?" Steve asked Clint as he laid Sadie on a rock nearby.

She groaned and tried moving her arm and found she couldn't. She looked down and could see how limp her arms were. The popping noise in the well must have been the dislocation of her shoulders.

She tried weakly to hold steady, but collapsed.

Steve caught her in time, "We're gonna get you out of here real soon, okay?"

"Daddy…" she suddenly cried, "Where's my daddy?"

"Right here, baby." Tony said, landing right next to her.

She looked up and saw Iron Man standing over her. His mask came up and he smiled at her, looking concerned.

Sadie breathed heavily, feeling sick.

"Still no sign of Beevis and Butthead?" Tony asked.

Clint shook his heads, "Ass holes got away for sure. Hulk's finishing up the cave with Thor. We're about to light the place up like the Disneyland Fantasmic."

Tony nodded and picked Sadie up. He quickly flew her to the jet and walked in with her.

She was looking pale and sick and he knew she was close to collapsing. He took a look at her dislocated shoulders and her bleeding wrists.

He saw Natasha enter, looking pissed.

"Can't belive the bastards got away." She muttered and went to start the jet.

One by one the rest of the group filed in.

Clint got in to help Natasha fly the jet while Bruce redressed himself.

Thor was looking fairly pleased with himself and followed Steve inside.

Steve immediately came over to Sadie, frowning, "Her shoulders are pretty badly dislocated." He commented.

"Jarvis, can I pop her shoulders back in place?" Tony asked.

"It would appear so, sir. And I am pleased to be reporting to you personally once again."

"You too buddy."

"This seems to be becoming a bad habit, sir." Jarvis commented.

Sadie groaned as he picked her up and sat her in his lap sideways.

He got his hands ready.

"Wait!" Bruce said, "You might want someone not wearing armor to do that."

He sat down and Sadie was handed to him.

He placed his hands gently one of her shoulders.

She groaned.

"Count of three." He told her.

"Wha-"

"One." He pushed it back into place, hearing a popping sound.

Sadie screamed and was quickly turned the other direction.

"One more, Sadie, hang in there." Bruce said, calmly.

She shook and didn't even hear as he popped her other shoulder back into place.

She yelled and tears came to her eyes. She was starting to feel dizzy.

"She's gonna need some ice." Bruce said.

"And a bucket." Tony said, but not fast enough as she vomited onto the jet's floor.

"Sadie?" Tony yelled, lifting her head, "Stay with me…Sadie!"

The last thing she saw was her dad turning fuzzy and then the lights went out completely.

…..


	20. Chapter 20

She didn't know how much longer she could stand it. The darkness was so overpowering she couldn't even see her chest piece light anymore. She shivered from the cold. Her throat was dry from the gag and she groaned in pain, her shoulders were killing her.

She just wanted her dad. What if they hurt her dad? She had to get out of there. Although it hurt, she tried swinging again.

"_Sadie…"_

Someone was looking for her; it had to be her dad. He had to find her. She tried screaming but could barely get a sound out, so she just kept trying to move.

"_Sadie…"_

He had to find her, he had to.

"_Sadie, wake up, baby." _

She groaned and continued to try and move.

"_Sadie…wake up, it's okay." _

Without warning the well disappeared and everything became bright. She blinked as blurry images started coming into focus. She groaned and tried moving her arms, but it hurt to do anything.

She shivered and felt something warm cover her body a little more.

"Sorry Sade's, the patches will get warmer in a sec." she heard her dad say.

She tried opening her mouth, but it felt like sandpaper it was so dry and sore. She couldn't talk if she wanted to.

Things started to come into focus and she realized she wasn't lying down; she was actually sitting on something, leaning back.

She looked down and saw a pair of arms wrapped around the blanket covering her. She turned her aching neck and saw that she was actually on her dad's lap, reclining on some sort of comfortable chair.

Her dad's face came into focus and he smiled at her, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"I'd lay you down, but every time you had a dream you kept turning onto your shoulders and they need to heal." He explained, "That and I wasn't about to let you go for a second." He smiled.

She groaned again and he grabbed something off of a table and she was relieved to see it was bottled water. He unscrewed it and held her head as he helped her drink it.

She wanted to grab the bottle, but couldn't. It was frustrating and she groaned angrily.

"I got it Sade's, just drink, okay." He said.

She was reminded of all her Diabetes attacks and just let her head rest on his hand and took small swallows.

She finally closed her mouth and coughed a little, nodding. She leaned her head on her dad's chest and tried to recall what had just happened.

He rocked her, holding her close, rubbing her arms and she felt the cold on her shoulders turn into heat.

"I'd designed these patches for all those Iron Man escapades." Tony laughed, "They're designed to go from a certain temperature of hot and cold. No need to throw away, no need to heat up, no need to freeze. And it's convenient, one size fits all."

Sadie smiled at how genius her dad was.

"Daddy…" she croaked, "What happened?"

He sighed and put his chin on her head, "Let's not talk about it yet, okay."

She was just fine with that, but images of the well kept popping into her head. Ali betraying her. Harrow and his menacing grip on her face before he dropped her into the well. Her dad's face as she was taken away.

She felt tears slipping down her face and felt her dad wipe them away gently.

She heard a hissing sound and looked over.

"Steve…" she breathed, smiling.

He grinned as he walked in, "How are you holding up Sadie?" he asked her, grabbing a chair.

She smiled at him and nodded, "I'm okay."

"I figured, you're tougher than Thor and Hulk combined." He laughed.

Sadie shook her head with a grin, then paused, "Thor's here?"

Steve raised his eyebrows and looked at Tony, "Would you believe he got your signal?" he laughed.

"I'll have to get them coverage up there." Tony chuckled, "Might be easier to contact."

"If Sadie invents more phones like the one she did, I wouldn't doubt it." Steve said.

Bruce came in and smiled, "She's looking a lot better." He commented, then leaned down as Tony lifted the blanket.

Sadie looked down and nearly cried. She was wearing a nightgown, but her arms were exposed and her wrists were bandaged pretty heavily, while her shoulders had the patches on them. Not to mention a few scratches on her legs.

"She'll be just fine. Go ahead and keep the patches on, they're doing her some good. She won't need them by tomorrow evening looks like." Bruce said, "Although she'll have some nasty bruising, so keep an eye out for any swelling."

He picked up one of her arms gently examining her wrists. "Make sure to change the bandages and clean the wounds on her wrists every couple of days, no more than two days." Bruce instructed.

"Sure thing Doc." Tony laughed.

They heard another pair of footsteps come into the room.

Sadie looked over and smiled at Thor, who was looking as majestic as ever.

"It's good to see her awake now." He commented, "Are you feeling better?" he asked.

She nodded and leaned back into her dad's chest, just wishing to go back to sleep.

She decided to close her eyes and tune out all the voices going on around her.

"We close yet?" Tony asked.

"Fury said we'd get there within the hour." Bruce said, finding a chair.

"Better keep Sadie awake." He sighed, shaking her gently.

She groaned, "I'm awake, morons."

He chuckled and Steve smiled.

"She's a peach when she's tired." Tony explained.

"You're telling me." Bruce commented. He shuddered remembering the one time he babysat her for Tony and Pepper and the look of death as he tried getting her to go to bed early.

"We're here." Natasha said over the intercom.

Tony could tell they'd landed and he finally woke Sadie up. He knew she wouldn't want to miss this.

"Sade's…we're home." He whispered.

Her eyes shot open.

….

He carried her wrapped in a blanket as he got out of the plane. She had to shield her eyes in his neck from the sunlight, but she could hear reporters and paparazzi all around her. She could also hear clapping and cheering.

Her dad finally reached the bottom of the plane when she heard it.

"TONY! SADIE!"

She looked up, "MOM!" she cried, pushing her dad away so he could put her down. She ran quickly to Pepper and plowed into her crying.

Pepper grabbed her fiercely and picked her up, crying.

Pepper sobbed holding Sadie and finally looked up at Tony who was standing right in front of her looking sorrier than she'd ever seen him.

She could not stay mad at this man for a minute longer. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around both of them and shielded his face in Pepper's neck, feeling the weight of everything that had just happened. He didn't want anyone to see red in his eyes, but forced himself to look up and quickly walk with them to the car.

He didn't care about saying good bye or thank your or hello for that matter. He just wanted his girl's home with him.

….

"No awkwardness here." Rhodey laughed, coming in with Bruce and the rest of the Avengers and SHIELD.

They'd let Tony come home with his family and decided to meet him here after a couple of hours.

Pepper had lots of food from fans and supporters, so she didn't even have to worry about being a hostess for all the superheroes flocking to Tony's house.

She just unwrapped everything and then joined Tony and Sadie on the couch to just sit together for a while in silence.

She smiled as Tony finally passed out with Sadie on his chest. She covered them up and then let the team in.

She hadn't really gotten to meet them all, especially Thor, so he was a definite surprise.

"This is an odd place." He commented coming in.

While they were helping themselves to food, Tony pretended to be asleep so he could just sit with Sadie for a while longer.

He had to laugh as he heard Thor eating him out of his house and home.

He looked down and saw Sadie's eyes were open, but she too was just content to stay here.

He knew that they'd be asking questions any time soon, causing both of them to relive everything that had happened.

Tony sighed and she looked up at him with her soulful brown eyes that were a dead ringer for his.

"You don't have to do this." He whispered.

She shook her head, "I don't wanna see that well anymore."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her. He caught Steve's eye who nodded to him.

He owed Steve once again. He was the one who found Sadie and got her out of there for him so he could enjoy beating a few of those monsters. But how do you begin to thank Captain America?

Sadie smiled watching Thor, "He better not eat all of that fettuccini." She said.

"Guess we should get up and pig out." He said, "That food sucked over there."

"I want pizza later." She nodded, "And lots of pancakes with extra syrup."

"True statement," he chuckled, "let's get cheeseburgers while we're at it too."

"And I'm going to have the biggest cheesecake slice in history." She added.

"Okay, we need to stop now." He laughed.

He walked with her over to Pepper who smiled at them and then took Sadie to another table and her face glowed as Pepper placed a huge slice of pizza in front of her with macaroni and cheese, cheesecake, and mashed potatoes.

"That is a veritable feast." Tony laughed, sitting next to her.

Pepper placed a huge bag of Burger King in front of him and he stared at her lovingly, "I think…I think I may love you Pepper." He gushed, opening the bag.

He and Sadie had never enjoyed food so much. Course he'd gobbled nearly five cheeseburgers after his stint in Afghanistan and she'd gone crazy at I-Hop and Donatos after she'd been cured, but this was a feast of the ages for both of them.

Pepper came over and took their pictures before they saw her and then came back to sit next to them.

Fury finally came over and Tony groaned.

He smiled at them and shook his head, "You two…are probably the most annoying kidnapping cases I've ever had the pleasure of working." He said.

They stared at him as he sat down. The rest of the team followed suit.

"I think you know what happens now." He said sadly.

Tony looked at Sadie sadly and she pushed her food away, nodding.

"Can't it wait, she just got back…"

"No." she said quickly and looked up, "I'm ready. I wanna talk."

Fury nodded to both of them, "Take your time, every detail counts."

"I just have a question before I start." She said bravely.

He smiled and listened.

"Do you promise to find them and kill them?" she asked.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the little eight-year-old who just asked that question.

He nodded, "I plan on making them pay very dearly for what they just did to you and I plan on making sure they go down for even attempting to destroy the world using the mind of an eight year old girl."

She nodded, feeling satisfied, "I'm ready."

…


	21. Chapter 21

Oh gosh, I apologize everyone, you have been so patient, bless your hearts. I have had midterms so I am just fried, but I did not forget you! Thank you for all the reviews and here it is another chapter! Enjoy!

….

Sadie sat at the table with her head in her hands. It had been five hours since she'd finished telling her story with her dad. She and Tony had spared no details and it relieved her to say the least. She was finally home and that's all that mattered now. SHIELD would take care of the rest.

Everyone had gone to bed. Thor and Steve stayed in guest rooms while everyone else went home. Sadie started out sleeping in her own bed with Kala at her feet, but now she sat at the kitchen table, unable to get the images out of her head.

She kept reliving the last night she saw her parents. Parker beating her and raping her. Her dad nearly dying when he went through that portal. Ali betraying her. Harrow sending her down into that well.

It was all just too much and Kala followed her out to the kitchen to watch her vigilantly.

Sadie looked at the poor dog who had been so isolated and depressed. Sadie knew it was because she was getting old and felt like a failure for not protecting her mistress better. She didn't get to go with Sadie everywhere like she used to. She wasn't as needed. But she still felt devoted to Sadie and never left her side, especially when Sadie was having a nightmare and her dad or Pepper just couldn't help her.

In the end, it was Kala who calmed Sadie down and helped her feel secure. Sadie smiled at her and Kala wagged her tail weakly from her position on the floor, drooling on her front paws.

Sadie sighed.

"You could not sleep either?" Thor said, coming in.

Sadie turned and he walked up to her and sat down. She smiled weakly at him and he nodded.

"I was debating on having more food, but you seem like you could use some cheering up." He smiled.

"Thanks, but…" she sighed, "I think I just want to sit here and not think."

"Sometimes it is better to think than to not think. Because no matter what, we have to in the end anyway."

She stared at this wise demigod before her.

"My father always told me that to run away from a problem was far worse than taking it head on."

"This isn't a battle." She said.

"Perhaps it is. In your own way. You are battling something that comes from deep within that is hurting you. Running away just makes it worse. Tell me Miss Sadie…what are you thinking about?"

She looked down, wondering if she should just lie and come up with something stupid to throw him off, but she didn't have the heart to lie to a man who was actually a god.

She shrugged, "I just…sometimes I wonder what will happen to me when I'm older. I never thought I'd grow up. And now that I am, it just feels like I'm losing every day."

"When you are young, life seems so simple…" he nodded.

"Except my life never was simple and it still isn't."

He smiled, "And that is the adventure."

"It's a crappy adventure."

He nodded, "True, life can be hard at times, throwing you around, making you vulnerable and feel just as worse. But when you accomplish it…the reward is always greater."

"So you're saying that just because I've had a few very bad bumps in the road…things will get better?"

He nodded, "They always do to those who earn it. And I must say, Miss Sadie, you have earned it. I have seen you overcome death, violence, torture, hardship, lies, vulnerability, and everything unimaginable, and yet, you are still here taking the time to listen to an old fool."

She giggled, "You aren't old and you are definitely not a fool."

"I once was…if you can believe it. But I've changed and have grown from it. You will too."

She sighed and suddenly felt…better, "Thank you Thor."

He nodded to her.

They both turned as they saw Steve come in wearing a white t-shirt and some very patriotic boxer shorts.

"I will never understand the way humans dress." Thor muttered, staring at Steve's boxers.

"Is there any more cheesecake?" Steve asked, yawning.

…

Tony got up and looked over to see the most gorgeous red head lying next to him, her arm across his middle. He'd never forget this sight for as long as he lived. He drank her in as the morning spread over her, giving light to everything he loved about her.

He brushed Pepper's hair from her eyes and couldn't believe his good fortune for finally gaining the courage to be with her, like this. Here and now. And he couldn't ask for a better mom for Sadie.

He sighed and decided to check on Sadie.

He kissed Pepper's temple and got up, throwing on some jeans and a t-shirt.

He walked downstairs and stopped dead.

Steve was lying on the couch, leaning onto the arm. Sadie's head was in his lap, her feet on Thor's lap. Thor slept with his mouth wide open on the couch, snoring like a beast while Kala sprawled all over him, drooling and snoring on his torso.

Tony looked over and noticed a ton of leftovers scattered on the coffee table in front of the couch.

He rolled his eyes and decided to take a picture. He'd have fun ripping into Steve for his boxers.

Sadie woke up first, rubbing her eyes and caught her dad's eyes and smiled sheepishly.

She stretched and got up, waking Steve in the process.

He looked over at Thor and stared at the random display and shrugged. What else was new?

Kala finally woke up and jumped off of Thor who shot up and grabbed his hammer, ready for battle.

"Foul creatures!" he cried, then realized where he was and sat back down, pretending it didn't happen.

He rubbed his face and got up stretching, "I feel as though a boulder were lying on top of me." He muttered.

Steve smirked and Sadie got up to go hug her dad. He picked her up and kissed her head.

She smiled, "What was that for?"

"Because I love you. Why else?" he grinned.

"Don't be embarrassing Dad!" she giggled as he put her down.

"Hey, don't start the teenage phase till you're actually a teenager." He said walking to the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast Stark?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I am in need of nourishment." Thor said.

Tony gaped, "You guys just ate all of my food in one sitting last night!"

They looked at each other and shrugged.

Tony rolled his eyes.

Pepper finally came down and took Sadie from him and held her close, walking towards the kitchen. Tony was impressed at how unscathed she was that his house was a mess.

Tony finally sat down next to Sadie at the table and noticed how tired she looked. Poor thing probably didn't sleep much last night. He had a feeling he and Pepper had to make room for her in their bed tonight.

While they all ate in silence, Tony couldn't help but feel relieved that he and Sadie had made it home. He only hoped they could find the bastards who hurt her.

He looked at her and thought about all of her friends at school. Jarvis informed him last night that she had nearly 70 calls all from her friends and teachers wishing her well.

Hard to believe a year ago this girl almost died without anyone truly noticing. Now here she was missing with her father for five days and the whole world suddenly noticed her.

It wasn't a happy thought to him. Every day was a risk and he worried about taking her out of school and shielding her. He knew he couldn't though. She wouldn't let him.

…..

After a very tearful goodbye (mostly by Sadie) Thor and Steve finally left. Thor had to return home and Steve was needed at SHIELD. Tony would have to go as well, but he wanted to spend at least one more night with his girls.

Sadie was such a mess all night, even though she knew she'd be sleeping with Tony and Pepper that night, she just kept crying and wouldn't eat.

Tony wondered why she was being so dramatic when he realized she hadn't had a chance to let it all out yet.

He was so devastated he actually started screaming at her to stop crying and Pepper made him leave.

He was downstairs sitting and thinking when Pepper finally called him up to tell him Sadie was finally asleep.

He got upstairs and collapsed on the bed next to them. Sadie lay in between Pepper and Tony, holding her Steve bear. Tony put his arm around her and Pepper found his hand. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

He sighed. He knew they'd get through it together one way or another. He just hoped for Sadie's sake that those ass holes would be caught and he could make them pay once and for all.

One question did keep bothering him. Who was Harrow's superior? Who was the tech guy? And how was it all connected?

Sadie moaned and he stared at the ceiling as he rubbed her head to calm her down. She snuggled under his armpit like she always did and he held her close.

"No more Sadie." He promised as he finally fell asleep.

….


	22. Chapter 22

_Okay everyone, I've had to really do some thinking and I am afraid I have been very distracted as well as busy. I am writing this as the last chapter of this segment. _

_I will write the next one once I've seen Iron Man 3. _

_However, there is time before that happens. So, I am giving you, my followers, the choice to vote. _

_Once this is done, do you want me to just do __**some random stuff with Sadie and Tony before Iron Man 3,**__ or __**would you like me to do a future (Sadie as a teenager segment)**__. I have heard many would love this idea and am considering it. It may not come for a bit but I will try I promise. _

_Thank you for all of your continued support of Sadie and Tony. _

_Love, Geminisonic_

…_._

Sadie was back in school, Tony was back to work, and Pepper was back to doing what she always did; worry about the two of them.

Sadie was welcomed back at school with open arms and tears. All of her friends had been waiting for her safe return and gave her a Welcome Home Party on her first day back.

Their papers would be due any day. Sadie withdrew and her teacher understood. She gave Sadie an A for all the research she'd done and decided it was best for everyone to destroy it.

Tony was not happy but he knew it made Sadie feel better to know her paper was no longer being used for evil. He instead had her help him with the judging.

Sadie gave the prize to Polly. Not because she was her friend, but because her research was going towards a good cause ending world hunger using science.

She told Polly the good news herself and Polly was ecstatic to win. All of her friends were pleased with the choice and as they prepared for fourth grade, they made sure Sadie was still considered part of the class, even if she didn't pick their papers.

Tony on the other hand, was distracted. For a few weeks after the ceremony, he was constantly in his workshop. He seemed different, more distant. He wouldn't even let Sadie come down.

It upset her so much that her dad didn't want her to help him that Pepper decided to enroll her in a 2 week summer camp with Polly. Sadie needed to get away and have fun. And Pepper needed to figure out what Tony's game was. It wasn't like him to treat Sadie this way.

…

Tony was so busy with his latest discovery for his suit; he didn't realize Sadie would leave for summer camp today.

He heard a knock and looked up. Sadie was wearing a jacket and backpack, looking sadly at him through the glass.

He let her in and asked her where she was going.

She looked down and shook her head.

Then it hit him, "summer camp! Yeah! Have fun, Sade's!"

She looked up sadly, "Daddy…?"

"What is it?" he asked, going towards her.

"Do you hate me?"

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

"Are you ashamed that I dropped out of the contest?"

"No! Sadie, I'm just glad you helped judge it."

"Are you upset that my paper turned into something bad?"

"Sadie, that's not your fault-"

"Then why won't you talk to me?!" she yelled.

He was taken aback.

She continued to stare at him and he finally sighed and rubbed his face, "Sade's, do you really want to go to summer camp?" he asked.

She nodded, "But not until you talk to me."

He sighed again and sat down and motioned her to come to him. She put her backpack down and sat in his lap. He hadn't realized how long it had been since he'd let her sit in his lap.

She curled up and he hugged her, "I'm sorry, Sade's."

"Why are you down here all the time?" she sobbed.

"I'm onto something, baby. But I can't…"

She looked at him, "Is it for Iron Man?" she asked.

He nodded, "Look, I'll tell you when I know it's safe, but right now…I don't want you involved in any more bad stuff okay. I just want you to be a normal kid."

She nodded, looking down.

"You do want to be a normal kid again, right?" he asked, chuckling.

She grinned. The special grin that she and Tony shared when they were at a loss for words.

"Then go to camp, don't worry so much. When you come home, I'll be here." He said, kissing her forehead.

She kissed his cheek and finally got up.

Before she left, she turned around, "Daddy…"

"Yeah Sade's?"

"I may want to be a normal kid…but I want to be your daughter more."

With that she left and Tony smiled to himself.

He stared with disdain at his newest project. He looked over at the collage picture frame filled with photos of Sadie. He should never have let his suit come between him and the ones he loved.

He finally decided to make something special for Sadie. Something that would come in handy later. Something that would definitely make her his daughter. Something a little insane. Something with a little bit of….iron to it.

Course he'd have to make it pink.

…

Thanks again for following everyone. I am sorry to end this segment. Don't forget to vote! Sadie's counting on you!


	23. message

Hey Guys!

So sorry this is actually another message.

I wanted to let people know who really love Sadie Stark that I am writing another story before Iron Man 3 comes out with Sadie and Tony. You should definitely check it out and let me know what you think.

It is a paranormal horror/suspense story but does have some good Sadie-Tony-Pepper bonding moments.

I am working on my details and suspense in writing and Sadie gave me the perfect opportunity to try it.

So please if you haven't, check out my story! Thanks and Iron Man 3 is getting closer, Hallelujah!


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